(Translator's note: The author of this article is Eric Nehm, NBA columnist of The Athletic, the content of the article does not represent the views of the translator, and the data in the article is as of January 18, 2022 Beijing time)
Welcome to the NBA 75, The Athletic's one-by-one inventory of NBA's 75 biggest stars to mark the league's 75th anniversary. We will announce each weekday the greatest player of all time selected by The Athletic's NBA staff panel.
Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn't believe it.
After the Bucks lost 103-96 to the Raptors on Saturday, he made The Athletic's 75 roster. After seeing his own bold and circled names, he looked at the other names, the stars who were in front of and behind him.
"They put me at 24th?" Alphabet brother asked. "Am I 24? Hahahahahahahahaha ”
Brother Alphabet walked down the hallway with the list.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa "Are you kidding me?"
Although Alphabet Brother is the youngest player on The Athletic's list, there is nothing wrong with his ranking on the list.
In his first eight NBA seasons, Alphabet was named an All-Star five times. He was named to the All-NMA team five times, the Defensive Team four times and the Rookie Team once. He won the 2016-17 Player Award for The Most Improved Player and the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year Award. He won his first championship ring in July 2021 and was named NBA Finals MVP, the Bucks' first NBA championship since 1971. With his Finals MVP, Alphabet Brother became the eighth player in NBA history to win multiple regular-season MVP and one Finals MVP in his career. He still accomplished all of the above achievements before he turned 27 last month.
Alphabet brother took the list and walked to his girlfriend Maria Riddlesprug, who took care of their two sons while waiting for Alphabet Gobo to finish the post-match media interview.
"Look at this. They ranked me 24th in history," Alphabet brother said as he showed his girlfriend his place on the list.
"Don't talk to me," brother Alphabet said, waving his arms to signal that he needed space, while he left our conversation with a big smile. "Stop talking to me!"
Eventually, when the letter brother's surprise and joy subsided a bit, he began to talk to The Athletic about his place in NBA history. With so much to achieve in eight NBA seasons, it's hard to imagine how high he would climb if he played another decade. However, when the next decade was mentioned, the alphabet brother interjected.
"No, I want to play for 20 years," said Brother Alphabet. "And I hope that I can be in the Bucks for 20 years."
"But we can only walk and watch, and I can't predict the future, but this thing (pointing to the list) is an appreciation." Elected 24th in history, I just turned 27. This shows that all my efforts have paid off. But I have to – we just lost the game – I have to look ahead. As a player, I have to keep improving. I want to continue to enjoy the game. To live in the moment, to live in the moment, when I'm done with everything, I withdraw from the league, how things will go, who knows?
"It's a compliment. I could take it there for discussion and show it to my kids. ”
However, Alphabet Brother refused to go any further and talk about his ranking.
"Eventually all these compliments, I have to put them aside, and you have to keep working hard because these compliments will make you stagnate," Antetokounmpo said. "They'll tie you up and stop you from moving forward. ...'Oh. I am in the top 24 of history. I'm the big guy. It just slows you down. I don't want that. I'm going to think about where I can do better.
"There's so much to distract you from right now. It's like, you're on the 75th all-time list, you're the 24th, you're the Finals MVP, you're a two-time MVP, or you're the one or this. ...... I'm tired of these things... Well, not boredom, how can I say that? Am I tired of compliments? Well, guys, I see, I just want to play basketball. I just want to play basketball. I just want to keep playing basketball and see where this games take me. Enjoy the game, every moment, that's what I've done throughout my career. I play hard and I will continue to do so. The sport has taken me so far, hopefully it will take me further. ”
These words are just the beginning of this conversation. To explain how the emaciated, obscure 18-year-old from Greece became one of the greatest players in league history in just over eight seasons, Alphabet took some time to think about his journey. He's moving forward every year of his career. Alphabet Brother broke it down a bit, and then gave how he got to this stage of his career. Here's what Giannis Antetokounmpo's career has seen, from his own perspective.
Few people will have the privilege of having a deep basketball conversation with Brother Alphabet. One of them is former Bucks TV announcer, Jim Paschke, who has conducted in-depth interviews with Alphabet Brother since his fifth season and before each season.
But these interviews are far from the beginning of the relationship between Paschke and Alphabet Brother. After being selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, when he came to Milwaukee, Paschke was one of the first people to meet Alphabet Brother. A few weeks later, Alphabet asked Paschke how he could better adapt to NBA games through video learning.
After five DNPs in the first 14 games of his first season, Alphabet Brother — who was a 6-foot-9-inch, 190-pound skinny forward at the time — made it to head coach Larry Drew's rotation and started 23 games for the Bucks in his rookie season. As a rookie, he averaged 24.6 minutes per game, contributing 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists, playing a role full of energy and a good complement.
While no one would question Brother Alphabet's work ethic, Paschke told The Athletic that he was aware of a change in Alphabet Brother in his second season.
"Let's connect the first and second years because I think it's important," Paschke said. "In his rookie season, people may still be looking forward to getting a high draft pick next year, and maybe so, I dare not draw conclusions. But then, the change happened. Jason Kidd took up his second season at Alphabet Brother. When Kidd arrives with Sean Sweene (bucks assistant coach at the time), everyone's mindset changes... It's not a joke. It was a serious matter, but Giannis accepted it right away. ”
Paschke's views resonated with Alphabet Brother. "When I first joined the league, I didn't understand its business side," Alphabet Brother told The Athletic. "I didn't realize I could become a negative asset. I didn't realize I could be traded at any time. But it's true; if I don't play hard, I'll probably get out of here. It's like you see a lot of top five picks, top ten picks, they don't play out in the first year and then they're traded. So, (in my first year) I just wanted to have fun. ”
Milwaukee's new coaching staff forced Alphabet Brother to cash in on all his talents.
Year 2: "This is business"
"Jason Kidd and the new coaching staff are coming, the new boss is coming," Alphabet brother said. "You can feel it now, it's business. That's business, right? In the first few games, I didn't start. No.2 Jabari Parker started. It makes me feel like, 'Oh? Yes. I had to work hard for my place on the team. When I make a mistake, I get pressed on the bench. 'All right. They don't love me as much as they did last year. Now I have to fight. I have to prove to Kidd, 'Yo, I can fight seriously too.' I can play a good game. But he didn't put me in the finishing lineup that time. That was the saddest thing for me. I don't care about starting, I care about finishing the game. So, he doesn't even want to believe that I can defend or that I can make the right decisions at the final stages. He thinks I'm a burden.
"I have to prove that I'm not a burden. Nice enough, I proved it. I've been proving to this guy all year that I'm not a burden. So in the playoffs I got the starter. I'm finishing the game. ”
After starting the season as a substitute, Alphabet brother then started 71 games. On November 12, 2014, he scored his first 20-point game of his career against the Wizards in his 14th game of the season, and as the season progressed, he scored another 20+ in six games. He only played two double-doubles in his first season, but scored 10 times that season. After winning just 15 games in his rookie season, the Bucks won 41 to become the No. 6 seed in the East.
In the first round of the Bucks' series against third-seeded Chicago Bulls, Alphabet brother started every game and played 51 minutes in the third game, which was finally lost in overtime, playing 51 minutes and scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds. After losing all three games in the first three games of the series, the Bucks showed their fighting prowess and took two wins from the much-anticipated Bulls.
Year 3: "Now I organize the attack"
"Now," brother Alphabet said. "I have to prove to these people, 'Yo, I'm staying. This is my team. I can play well. I can finish the end. We have a lot of good players. We have Greg (Monroe). We have Chris (Middleton). We have Jabari. And me. And Michael Carter Williams. We were well stocked, and Jerry Belles.
"Now Kidd can see some hints, 'You can have the ball. It is also possible to pass the ball. 'I don't want to chant a mantra in my heart, but (nodding to hint)' (Of course, coach. I can pass the ball. I can find empty teammates. It's not as good as what I'm doing now, but I can. Playing point guard? 'Oh okay. I didn't expect that to happen, but if you trust me so much, I can try. I'd rather be trusted than not be trusted, right? So now it's up to me to organize the attack. I thought, okay. ”
Alphabet Brother's average performance in all five major statistics improved, averaging 16.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game in 35.3 minutes.
As the season's record deteriorated, Kidd began experimenting more with young players. First, he let Middleton play more blocks and organize the offense more. About a month later, Kidd handed the offense over to Alphabet Brother and asked him to play as a point guard. As Antetokounmpo carried the ball, the Bucks picked up speed. February 22, 2016 – Kobe Bryant's final game in Milwaukee, Alphabet scored his first career triple-double. In the final two months of the season, Alphabet Brother, who played point guard, scored four more triple-doubles.
Year 4: "I'm Everywhere"
"I signed a contract extension, which was the biggest contract in Milwaukee's history at the time," Alphabet said. "Now I have to prove to people that I'm not just signing big contracts. ...... I have to prove to the fans that I'm going to fight here.
"I feel like that year, I struggled from the first minute of the season to the last minute. Defending, attacking, covering, blocking, everything. I'm everywhere. I was named an All-Star for the first time, and my dad was there. ”
Alphabet signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension in the offseason, and then he led the Bucks in five major statistics for the 2016-17 season, and the Bucks also made the playoffs. The alphabet brother also represented the Bucks in the first career all-Star Game, and was selected for the NBA's Best Team Second Team and Defensive Second Team. The Bucks lost to the Raptors in the first round of the playoffs, but there's no denying that Alphabet Brother was the Bucks' first choice, playing well (averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game).
Year 5: "I want to be an MVP"
"I thought, I want to be an MVP," Alphabet said, "I said it publicly." I said my goal was to become an MVP. My goal is to stand on the pitch and be the one to carry the defensive and offensive ends and make the right tactics, fighting for this team every night. I push myself, you know. I wasn't able to do that yet.
"We met Boston in the playoffs. We played game 7. Previous entrants to the NBA Finals were LeBron James and the Cavaliers, who also played Game 7 (against Boston). So I thought, 'We've run into hard stubble.' ’...... I sat in Fresno (Riddlespringer's home in California) and thought, 'LeBron and they hit grab seven.' We also hit them to grab seven. We're kind of a bit of a score. ’”
In the final season of Kidd's era, Alphabet Brother took his game to new heights. For the first time in his career, he averaged a double-double (10.0 rebounds) and averaged points per game (26.9 points) in the top five in the NBA. He became part of everything the Bucks did on both ends of the spectrum, but in the second half of the season, under interim head coach Joe Prenty, Alphabet still couldn't win his first series victory.
Year 6: "Don't you want me to be good?" ”
"Now, I'm used to holding the ball and doing some singles. In the bull's corner position, initiate a block, then cut in or rebound, or just single. Coach Buden (Mike Budenholzer) is in office and never plays the same tactics as before. We don't want that. You'll be fine. I want your teammates to be good. But I was only 23 years old, and I thought, 'Don't you want me to be good?' You want my teammates to be great? 'Nope. No, no, no, no, no. There is a problem with this. I feel like I've been insulted," Antetokounmpo said with a laugh. "It was too young. Immature.
"(We were at the time) the best team in the league. Made the playoffs. You know, I'm excited to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. People see it as a failure; but I'm excited. We are one of the top four teams in the NBA. But one thing that me off is that I feel like my previous year – even though I won the MVP in 2019 – I feel like I was still able to get better the year before me. Because I felt like in my 6th season, every team was five people on the outside. At the end of the game, when things get scorched, that damn thing isn't going to work. Five people are on the outside, what are we TM doing? You have to get into the three-second zone. You have to be able to hit the point and do things like stand at the free throw line and shoot. ”
Alphabet played the most efficient basketball of his career, and although he averaged four minutes less per game than in his first season under Budenholzer, he scored more points, grabbed more rebounds and delivered more assists. The Bucks won 60 games and dominated the regular season. The 24-year-old, Antetokounmpo, averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game, becoming the third youngest player in league history to win an MVP.
The Bucks went to the farthest point of Alphabet's career in the playoffs, winning the first two games in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the Raptors then built a defensive wall with Kawhi Leonard and Mark Gasol. A few days after the series ended, Alphabet swore to The Athletic that he would get better next season and was ready for this defensive strategy.
Year 7: "I know what's going on"
"I need to prove myself, I know what's going on," Brother Alphabet said. "I knew I had to develop good habits. I have to get better. It was the best year of my career, both offensively and defensively. It's about finding my teammates.
"But I will say that Coach Bud forced me to find my team-mates. I did it. He forced me, 'No, you have to make the right pass.' No, you have to make the right pass. I would say, 'Coach, we're two points behind. I'm just going to drive this guy to shoot three-pointers. Like he said, "Make the right pass." "Okay, coach. It's the 7th year. End in Miami. As an athlete, I don't make excuses for myself, but it's not a satisfactory year for me because I don't think it would end like that if it went as usual. But at the end of the day, I think Miami is a team built for the Bubble Zone, you know?
There are only 12 players in NBA history who have been kept as MVP, and Alphabet Brother became one of them in his seventh season. At the same time, he also won the 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, joining Michael Jordan and Hakim Olajuwon as the only player in league history to receive MVP and DPOY in the same season.
But these honors don't matter. Four months after COVID-19 forced the league to suspend, the NBA moved into bubble park outside Orlando, Florida, where top seed bucks lost to the Heat in the second round before the most important offseason of Alphabet Brother's career.
Despite some dramatic events, Alphabet Brother signed a $228 million super-salary contract (the largest contract in NBA history) to the free agent market and stayed in Milwaukee.
Year 8 "Guys, I've passed my own level"
"I've passed my own level, I've passed my own level. I know what's going on. I have surpassed myself. I don't care," Alphabet Brother said. "I don't like to fail, but I know what needs to be done. I know. I've developed good habits and I'm there when important moments come. I'm here. I'm not afraid to defend. I'm not afraid to defend Jimmy Butler. I'm not afraid to change defenses. It's like I'm here. I've already passed my own level.
"I remember in Utah, I only scored two or zero points at halftime. Everybody is saying, 'Be aggressive!' Be aggressive! I was like, 'Are you going to be aggressive?' Why should I be aggressive? Two people bags sandwiched me. The right passing choice is there. They're like, 'No! We want you to be aggressive! I said okay. I stepped forward in the second half. I showed aggression. In the second half I scored like 30 points. But we still lost the game, but it showed the team, 'Guys, I've passed my own level.' ’”
Alphabet brother makes it all sound simple, but there's still a lot to learn and execute in the team's most important moments in the playoffs. Alphabet Brother once again played gorgeous stats, and he was selected for the Best Team for the fifth time, but there was little discussion about his MVP three consecutive zhuangs. He needs to prove it in the playoffs — and that's exactly what he did.
He defended Butler in place and led the Bucks to sweep the Heat. He went head-to-head with the Nets and hooked up on a shot at a crucial moment to seal up the Bucks' seven-time win at Brooklyn. He recovered from a serious injury to the Eastern Conference Finals G4 and stood on the floor of the first game of his first NBA Finals. He then became the seventh player to score 50 points in the Finals with 50 points and 14 rebounds in the G6, ending the Phoenix Suns and putting the title in check. Alphabet scored 211 points in six series. Only Michael Jordan (twice), Rick Barry, Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James scored more points in the six Finals.
While the G6's 50 points is one of the greatest performances in NBA Finals history, Paschke feels alphabet brother has finished the series at G5.
"In my opinion, the NBA Finals ended at G5 when (Juju) Holliday snatched and Giannis pointed to the basket," Paschke told The Athletic. "Listen, that's Giannis has killed Red Eye. Giannis, he could feel the dagger in his hand, and then he pointed to the basket. Because Holliday would dribble as usual and be smart with this layup, and then Giannis just said, "You know, I'm going to crush these guys." "That's when the game is over.
"The mental requirements of the game are starting to become more frequent, but it is also a little more handy for him. It's the result of the length of time he's been in the league and the hard work he's trained for. That's the difference between a champion and a great player, because there are a lot of great players who don't even win a championship. ”
Now the story comes to the 9th year.
Alphabet Brother has achieved more than most players in NBA history in the first eight seasons. With last season's championship, he won a spot among the greatest players of all time, but he's still fighting for more, even though he feels this season of defending titles isn't the same as the others.
Brother Alphabet said: "I used to think I won the championship, and then like a fairy tale, everything was over and we started to enjoy it. "We've been at parties for 15 years in a row, but when you win one, you think, 'What's going to happen next?' ”
There will be no victory parade on Wisconsin Avenue in January. Confetti scattered on the road during the carnival in July 21 was replaced by melted snow salt. In the 9th year, Alphabet Brother repacked and set off, and he also remembered some of the words he heard in the offseason that had just passed.
"I don't know if you know this guy, but I'm going to talk about a great Greek point guard, Theo Papalukas, who played for the national team, CSKA Moscow, Olympiacos," Alphabet told The Athletic. "He told me, 'Giannis, it's never going to stop.'" I asked, 'What does it mean to never stop?' ’
"He said, 'Every time you win something or finish something, you say, 'What's going to happen next?'" Because that's what humans are. And when I came back, I was like, 'Damn, this is so TM crazy, I'm already thinking about what's going to happen next.' ’
The wall of honor is already full, but the alphabet brother has not yet retired. As he said, he's not even halfway through his career.
"I'm lucky," Brother Alphabet said. "Even if I never win again, I'm already very lucky... Those young kids would get into the league and then overtake me. But who knows. Walk and see. But every time, no matter what happens, I always like to say, 'Look ahead.' ''Go down. ''Wait and see. ’”
By Eric Nehm
Compile: Nebula