“ If we had asked Giannis, no doubt he would have played. But you have to know how to say no. » So spoke Doc Rivers earlier in the week regarding the hamstring injury of Giannis Antetokounmpo. He missed two games, against the Suns and the Celtics, before playing again last night against the Nets.
The Bucks player clearly didn't want to spend too long in the infirmary. “ Things like that (the wounds) will happen from time to time. It's a little unexpected, but in the end, these are the cards you're dealt, and you just have to keep solving problems, keep playing through pain, through adversity “, judge the Greekafter scoring 21 points (9/19 on shots) and 9 rebounds against the Nets.
Officially eligible for end-of-year awards, because it was his 65th match this season, the double MVP recalls that his objective for this exercise was to play all the matches, i.e. 82 matches. Which he has never achieved in his career (record of 81).
Kobe Bryant's inspiration
“ But when this objective is no longer relevant, we must fall back on the second. There is a greater goal to achieve (the title ?) and you have to think about the bigger picture. I could play through the pain, but it's not smart in the long run », Ends up admitting the one who had quickly returned to the courts despite a knee injury suffered ahead of the 2021 NBA final.
Injured when winning his first title, he explained to his brother Thanasis, an improvised journalist: “ Often this has allowed me to succeed, but also not to succeed. My greatest strength as an individual and what allows me to be who I am is my stubbornness, but it is also my greatest weakness. »
Giannis Antetokounmpo then reports a conversation he had with Kobe Bryant in 2018.
“ He told me, 'My greatest strength is that I'm an asshole, and my greatest weakness is that I'm an asshole.' So sometimes if you are able to channel your weakness in the right way and be mature about it, it can set you up for success », Judges the Greek, thinking in particular that it would have been a mistake for him to play Game 6 against Atlanta in 2021.
The Bucks had won, without him, this conference final match, and the previous one, to qualify for the NBA final against the Suns. The interior had thus benefited from a few more days of rest to take its place.
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2013-14 | MIL | 77 | 25 | 41.4 | 34.7 | 68.3 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 4.4 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 6.8 |
| 2014-15 | MIL | 81 | 31 | 49.1 | 15.9 | 74.1 | 1.2 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 12.7 |
| 2015-16 | MIL | 80 | 35 | 50.6 | 25.7 | 72.4 | 1.4 | 6.2 | 7.7 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 16.9 |
| 2016-17 | MIL | 80 | 36 | 52.1 | 27.2 | 77.0 | 1.8 | 7.0 | 8.8 | 5.4 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 22.9 |
| 2017-18 | MIL | 75 | 37 | 52.9 | 30.7 | 76.0 | 2.1 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 26.9 |
| 2018-19 ★ | MIL | 72 | 33 | 57.8 | 25.6 | 72.9 | 2.2 | 10.3 | 12.5 | 5.9 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 27.7 |
| 2019-20 ★ | MIL | 63 | 30 | 55.3 | 30.4 | 63.3 | 2.2 | 11.4 | 13.6 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 29.5 |
| 2020-21 | MIL | 61 | 33 | 56.9 | 30.3 | 68.5 | 1.6 | 9.4 | 11.0 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 28.2 |
| 2021-22 | MIL | 67 | 33 | 55.3 | 29.3 | 72.2 | 2.0 | 9.6 | 11.6 | 5.8 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 29.9 |
| 2022-23 | MIL | 63 | 32 | 55.3 | 27.5 | 64.5 | 2.2 | 9.6 | 11.8 | 5.7 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 31.1 |
| 2023-24 | MIL | 64 | 35 | 61.6 | 29.2 | 66.5 | 2.5 | 8.7 | 11.2 | 6.4 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 30.8 |
| Total | 783 | 33 | 54.5 | 28.7 | 70.3 | 1.8 | 7.9 | 9.7 | 4.8 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 23.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
