Last Friday, Giannis Antetokounmpo snapped the Bucks’ six-game losing streak. Last night, he led them to their first consecutive wins this season. Cade Cunningham’s Pistons pushed the two-time MVP to the brink in an overtime thriller, after building an 18-point lead over the home team early in the third quarter.
Antetokounmpo rose to the occasion and tallied the highest-scoring game of the 2024-25 season. He had a never-seen-before stat line of 59 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
After playing a dominant 44 minutes, the Greek Freak was understandably gassed. But in his exhaustion, Giannis’ emotions became very evident during the post-game interview as he reflected on the uphill battle his team faces.
Fiserv Forum was echoing MVP chants when a teary-eyed Antetokounmpo began, “I’m just proud of my teammates, they never stopped playing hard…For me, as long as you play that way, you always have a chance to win the game.”
“At the end of the day, nobody said it’s going to be easy right? I remember the year we won the championship, we didn’t start the season very well but at the end of the day, we never gave up,” Antetokounmpo shared.
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Giannis’ return from injury could not have come at a better time for the Bucks. Despite holding a 4-8 record, they are just three wins back from the third-placed Orlando Magic. As Giannis reflected, this unit has been in a similar position before.
The Bucks went 2-3 during the first month of the 2020-21 season and rallied back to win their Central Division by the end of the year. Their season ended with Giannis lifting his first NBA championship and Finals MVP trophy, breaking Milwaukee’s 50-year title drought.
Cream City seems to play their best basketball with their backs against the wall. Even two decades ago, when they were led by Ray Allen, the Bucks began their season with a dismal 3-9 record but ended the campaign with a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The 2000-01 roster held a worse record after 12 games than their 2024-25 counterparts, and they still rallied back through the season to clinch 52 wins. Not only did they make the ECF, they also pushed the eventual finalists, the Philadelphia 76ers, to 7 games in the series.
This is not to say that Antetokounmpo will be able to replicate the same success. The odds are still stacked against the Greek Freak and his team as only 12 teams since 1970 have made the postseason after starting the season 1-6.
Giannis is certainly the caliber of player who could make that 13. But it will require Doc Rivers’ side to put together a winning streak and soon. They are in a prime position to start that run as only two of Milwaukee’s next 9 opponents are playing over .500 basketball. Their next matchup will come on Saturday as they travel to Charlotte to take on Lamelo Ball and his Hornets.
