Witnessing Giannis Antetokounmpo Making Basketball History
Watching live Giannis' historical performance in the Milwaukee Bucks game against Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, on a record-breaking night, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the top scorer in the team’s history.
March 31, 2022
Arriving at the Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets, one could immediately distinguish three groups of people: the Nets fans (the vast majority), the Milwaukee Bucks fans, and third, a distinct group of their own, the fans of Giannis Antetokounmpo, proudly wearing their Number 34 Bucks and Greece jerseys.
As in any other NBA game, everything from the pre-game and timeouts all the way to the halftime was a big entertainment show. Lights, loud music, artists, dozens of dancers, competitions, flying t-shirts, and spontaneous dance parties across the stadium.
The biggest performance, however, was meant to be given by Antetokounmpo. From the beginning of the game, I had in mind that there were only 40 points that separated Giannis from the Bucks’ all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record (14,211 points). But the way the record was actually broken was something much bigger than I had ever imagined.
While the Nets had a steady lead throughout the game and excellent percentages, Giannis made it clear that whenever he wanted, he could score.
It was a game that every fan enjoyed, with the constant adoration of Kyrie Irving (just his third game at home for this year) and Kevin Durant by the Nets fans, while the scattered friends of the Bucks and of Giannis, though much fewer, were most enthusiastic.
This happy atmosphere lasted until the last part of the game when the festive mood turned into a ”battle,” reminiscent of all last year's playoffs. Watching the game live, there were three main instances contributing to the big moment of Giannis’ historic record:
1. Giannis’ composure during the free throws
Having been in this stadium before during last year’s play-offs with the infamous counting of seconds, whenever Giannis went to free throws, there was a chaos in the stadium. From the 86-year-old eccentric Nets superfan “Mr. Whammy” furiously heckling and waving his arms behind the basket, to the decibel meter on the screens, Nets fans tried everything to distract Giannis. Nevertheless, this year’s transformation of Giannis along with his incredible ability to maintain his composure made him infallible throughout the game, with the exception of the free throws immediately after the ejection of Κhris Middleton and the fatigue of overtime.
2. Khris Middleton’s Ejection
A decision that was seemingly influenced by the intense reactions of the fans, with stadium officials urging the fans to protest more, and with all the large screens constantly focusing on Middleton’s face, resulting in an even greater outcry by the Nets fans.
3. The pandemonium that followed after the decision to eject Middleton culminated in Durant’s fast-break points for the +9, the second biggest score difference in the game, which seemed to seal a Nets victory. The energy in the stands, the psyche created by the accuracy of the Nets, together with the fact that the Bucks had only scored 3 points in 5 minutes, indicated that the Nets may finally get revenge for last year’s exclusion. But when most people thought the game was over, the beauty of basketball prevailed, together with the “heart” of the champions and the team spirit that the Bucks have created.
The comeback and the record
Up to that point, the Nets not only had better percentages but also four players consistently in the double digits, while at the same time Giannis had gotten ”stuck” at 37 points since 9:42 before the end until 2:27 as if the record did not want to be broken.
But at the moment that counted the most, both the composure of Jrue Holiday, as well as the scoring with 2 offensive rebounds by Wesley Matthews and Bobby Portis, helped the Bucks get closer and showed that nothing was over yet.
Then it was time for Giannis to “speak”, and everything happened in a minute's time. He misses a seemingly easy three-pointer (compared to the “historic” one that would later follow), and as complete pandemonium prevailed in the stands from the impending victory with the score at +3 and with the ball in the Nets’ possession, few people understood what happened when Giannis was initially charged with a defensive foul, which, however, correctly turned into an offensive one (we had to see it from the screens to understand it in the stands), shortly before the moment when history was written.
Almost from the same point as before, but this time with an opponent in front of him, Giannis makes the step-back and hits a three-pointer that may not have been shown to us again on the field, but instantly started to go viral around the world.
This led to an explosion of celebrations, with the atmosphere in the stands being completely reversed (no matter how civilized things are in the NBA with friends of both teams sitting on the podium together, there is usually a limit to the reactions of ”guest” fans). At the moment of the three-pointer, however, all those of us who wore the Bucks jerseys and/or the Greek National team jerseys had started to jump up and celebrate. During the overtime, it was clear that nothing could change no matter how hard the Nets fans reacted over the marginal foul on Durant.
I have a feeling that even the Nets fans knew that when Giannis went for the free throws in the 3 seconds before the end, he could not fail. He was destined to score and prove once again that he is the best basketball player on the planet.
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Thank you to Katerina Housos, Human rights lawyer & idealistic empath for making this article accessible in English.
Greek Version: https://www.oneman.gr/life/vlepontas-zontana-ton-gianni-antetokounmpo-na-grafei-istoria/
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