Giannis Antetokounmpo wasted no time starting his MVP campaign for the 2017-2018 season. In just four games this season he has put up 36.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 5.3 APG, and 2.3 SPG. He earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for the NBA’s opening week of play and also put up the most points (147) by a Bucks player through the first four games of the season since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (146) in the 1970-1971 season.
Giannis is playing this season, and every season from here on out, for his father who recently passed away from a heart attack at the age of 54. On October, 21st 2017, Giannis led the Milwaukee Bucks past the Portland Trailblazers in Milwaukee 113-110, a game dedicated to his late father. His teammates gave him the game ball, and he signed it saying, “This is for daddy. We got a win tonight. I had 44 points.” He had a clutch steal on All-Star Trailblazer’s guard C.J. McCollum in the last 30 seconds of the game, and he broke away for the go-ahead dunk. The Trailblazers were down 111-110 on the last possession of the game when he blocked Jusuf Nurkić’s potential game-winning shot to seal the game for the Bucks. Giannis asserted his dominance in this game and sent a message to the league to not take him lightly.
The absolute tear that Giannis is on has NBA fans left wondering just how much better this young player can get. While it’s not realistic to think he’ll continue to average 36 PPG, it is plausible to think that he could average anywhere from 25-30 PPG this season. Giannis is, without a doubt, the best talent the Bucks have seen since Michael Redd, and hopefully he can continue his great play through the rest of the regular season and deep into the postseason.
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