Giannis Antetokounmpo made history on Saturday, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 116-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Greek sensation became the 42nd player in history to score 21,000 points. Antetokounmpo scored 29 points on 80% shooting from the field. Following his historic feat, the Bucks star revealed his desire to take over the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Antetokounmpo is still far from reaching the top spot, which belongs to LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers. Before James secured the top spot, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held the crown for 39 years with his 38,387 points. Now, the Lakers star has the spot with 42,250 points.
After scoring 21,000 points, Antetokounmpo was appreciative of his achievement.
“Coach Doc (Rivers) came in and he told me that there’s only like 11, 12 players who have ever scored 21,000 points with one team through the history of the game, and you’re like, ‘Wow.’ Being a kid from Greece — from Sepolia, where I grew up in a small neighborhood that not a lot of, let’s say, great things happen there or come out of there — to be able to be on this stage and 13 years later to score 21,000 points, I’m very appreciative,” the Greek Freak said.
Giannis Antetokounmpo expressed his goal to be at the top of the all-time scoring list as he proceeded to discuss scoring records.
“I think to get to the top of the scoring list, it’s not six, seven, eight years away,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think, in my opinion, it’s four years away. Four, five years away, 4 1/2 years away.
“I think when I am going to be 35 years old and sitting in this chair, and we want to have a discussion of I am in the top list of all time in scoring, I would have talked that into existence. And not just talking it into existence because I believe that I’m going to do it. It’s something that I want to do.”
How has Giannis Antetokounmpo scored this season?
Giannis Antetokounmpo is having one of the best scoring seasons of his career. He is the fourth-best scorer this season with an average of 30.9 points. Scoring at least 30 points isn’t something new for Antetokounmpo. Throughout his 13-year career, he’s done it at least four times. With the amount of points he’s put up, Antetokounmpo has dominated the Eastern Conference with his offensive performances.
As great a scorer as he is, his defense shouldn’t be ignored. The nine-time All-Star is also influential on defense. During the 2019-20 season, he proved that he’s one of the best defenders in the NBA by winning the Defensive Player of the Year.
But with how he’s been scoring over the past four seasons, Antetokounmpo has a chance to be at the No. 1 spot in the all-time scoring list.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
