Milwaukee Bucks: Shot blocking history nears for Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo will continue to cement his place in Milwaukee Bucks history next season, and in that regard his shot-blocking may end up being particularly note-worthy.

Through six seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo has become an undeniable force of nature.

The start to his NBA career was comparatively slow as he adjusted to the league, learned the game and reworked his body as an incredibly raw and stringy young talent, but Antetokounmpo now reigns as the NBA MVP and has his eyes set squarely on making even more history.

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At the top of that priority list is undoubtedly Antetokounmpo’s quest for NBA championship glory, but in pursuit of that goal, there’s an excellent chance he could rewrite a whole host of records in the process.

Antetokounmpo seems like a guarantee to climb his way up many of the NBA’s all-time leaderboards, if health permits him to have the lengthy career he clearly desires. But as things stand, he’s already starting to make his move in terms of all-time Bucks’ stat leaders.

Last season, Antetokounmpo overtook Andrew Bogut to become the franchise leader in defensive rebounds, and he’ll inevitably move past Marques Johnson into third in total rebounds midway through the upcoming season.

There’s another notable list that Antetokounmpo is tracking to scale next season, though, and it’s one which will likely bring him very close, at the least, to becoming the franchise’s all-time block leader within the next year to 18 months.

Antetokounmpo currently ranks fourth among Bucks block leaders, trailing only Bogut, Harvey Catchings and Alton Lister.

With 626 rejections already to his name, Antetokounmpo looks scheduled to move up past Bogut at 642 within the first 10 games or so of the new season. Beyond that, he’ll only need 67 more blocks to match Catchings for second place.

From there, only 95 rejections will stand between Antetokounmpo and Lister’s long-standing franchise high point for shot blocking.

In total, that leaves Antetokounmpo 178 blocks away from taking Lister’s mantle. For reference, Antetokounmpo blocked 110 shots last season, although he did manage a career-high 151 blocks in 2016-17.

In other words, although it would take a notable step forward that would take him into the conversation for the league leader in blocks per game next season, it’s not beyond Antetokounmpo to finish next year within touching distance of the record.

Betting against Antetokounmpo averaging the required 2.17 blocks per game next season isn’t something that should be done lightly, but coming off the back of a World Cup and with the Bucks eager to keep their superstar in peak condition, the 82 games needed at that rate may just be a bridge too far.

There can be no doubting that it is possible for Antetokounmpo to knock off that mark next season, though, as we need look no further than one of his teammates for evidence. Brook Lopez tallied 179 blocks in 81 games last season, matching the exact mark Giannis now requires to become the franchise’s leading shot-blocker.

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Perhaps the competition Brook provides Giannis for rejections will work against him too, but it appears to be just a matter of time before Antetokounmpo overtakes Lister and grabs the franchise lead in his first of the five major statistical categories. In truth, if the Bucks can convince Antetokounmpo to ink a super-max extension next summer, it’ll just be a matter of time before the other four fall to him too.

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