LeBron – Giannis: A Comparison after Giannis broke two records
After the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns 120-100 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday, the internet was littered with statistics of LeBron Giannis record that attempted to put Giannis Antetokounmpo’s accomplishments into perspective.
His 41 points made it his second straight game with 40 or more points, and they helped the Bucks’ close the gap in their best-of-seven series to 2-1. Giannis has scored in the Finals more times with 40 or more points than Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain.
They all have experience traveling to the NBA Finals, despite the fact that scoring isn’t the only asset many of them bring to the table. A participant in 15 Finals games, Durant, was ousted by the Bucks in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Kareem has participated in 56 Finals games, followed by Bryant in 37, Chamberlain in 35, Duncan in 34, Bird in 31 and Malone in 12. Of course, Giannis has taken part in three. The two-time NBA MVP’s straight 40-point NBA Finals performances put him in the company of Michael Jordan, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal, Rick Barry, and LeBron James.
In addition, the 26-year-old is now only the third NBA Finals player in history to achieve back-to-back 40-10 double-doubles. LeBron Giannis has now become the hot topic of discussion these days. Giannis is now only the second player in finals history to have back-to-back games with 40 points and 10 rebounds. Shaquille O’Neal, a member of the Hall of Fame, is the only other player to have accomplished the feat in the past; he did so 21 years ago.