On Friday night, Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo passed franchise legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson to etch his name into the NBA history books. His dominant stat line of 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists against the Hornets gave him the most games with those stats ever, breaking a three-way tie with the other Bucks legends.
It's been a tumultuous season for Giannis and the Bucks, but he once again proved his individual dominance. At his best, Giannis can do things that nobody else in the NBA, right now or in the history of the league, can match.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a historically great talent
The well-rounded nature of this NBA record emphasizes Giannis' greatness. He has become an unstoppable scorer attacking the rim, but his true value is combining that skill with everything else. This season, Giannis has brought a level of defensive dominance and playmaking in addition to his scoring that make him a unique force in NBA history.
He's setting a great example for his team by doing whatever it takes to get wins. The Bucks roster is not the strongest top-to-bottom, but Giannis can still take on any burden necessary to eke out wins. He is showing the true range of his skill set, largely out of necessity.
The Bucks haven't looked great in the win-loss column this season, but they are 12-9 with Giannis. It's questionable whether any other superstar could do as well with this team. Giannis' contributions in every part of the game are nearly impossible for any other player to match, especially on a consistent basis.
His new historical footnote just goes to show how long Giannis has been stuffing the stat sheet. The fact that he passed two former Milwaukee Bucks is a fitting touch of irony. Both Kareem and Oscar were instrumental in winning the Bucks' first NBA championship in 1971. It would be 50 years before the Bucks got another one, led by Giannis.
That achievement alone cemented Giannis in Bucks history with the other two legends, but his most recent accomplishment shows that he can rival them even on a grander NBA scale.
Of course, both Abdul-Jabbar and Robertson had long stretches of success with other franchises as well. But their overall careers are the stuff of legend. Kareem held the all-time scoring record for decades until LeBron James broke it, and Oscar had a similar hold on all-time triple-doubles until Russell Westbrook came around.
Giannis doesn't always get the respect he deserves in all-time rankings, but his longevity in 30/10/5 stat lines proves that he deserves to be in the same conversations. When it's all said and done, the Greek Freak will have his name mentioned with the greatest players in NBA history.