Giannis in the Playoffs Is Probably Better Than You Think
When people think of Giannis Antetokounmpo, they don’t normally think of a great playoff performer. He gets a lot of criticism for being a great regular season player who can’t seem to quite get it done when things tighten up in the playoffs. After all, he won back-to-back regular season MVPs in 2019 and 2020, yet failed to reach the NBA Finals both times.
But how bad has he really been in the playoffs?
Well, let’s start with just his career playoff averages… 25.1 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 52% FG and 28% 3P.
A list of players to average 25/10/5 in the playoffs all-time? Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic. That’s it.
Keep in mind that Giannis’ numbers include that 2015 series against the Bulls when he was nowhere close to the player he is now and averaged just 11.5 points per game. Even with that series included, his overall numbers are still very good.
Now, did Giannis struggle in those playoff series against the Raptors and Heat the past 2 years? Yes, but it was nothing insane. Against Toronto, he averaged 22.7 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on 45% shooting. Not his best, but this wasn’t some crazy choke job. Same thing against Miami last year — he put up 21.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists on 51% shooting in less than 30 minutes per game. He had a hand in both of those series losses, but there were several other factors (coaching, other top players not stepping up, role players missing shots) that led to the Bucks’ elimination.
And Giannis has been really good in every other series he has played in. From 2017 (his first real playoff series as a borderline star) up until that Toronto series, he played in 22 playoff games and averaged 26.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on 54% FG and 33% 3P. Those are star numbers. Yet he only won 2 out of those 4 playoff series because the Bucks simply were not that good yet. His first real chance at a ring was 2019, and Toronto was a tough matchup for him in that Eastern Conference Finals series where the Bucks ended up losing. Giannis somehow became known as a guy who folds in the playoffs after that one series.
Next year, the Miami loss happened (another team that simply was a tough matchup for the Bucks and Giannis), and the narrative was pushed even further. Giannis at this point was viewed as a certified playoff choker, despite having playoff averages of 25.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 53% FG and 33% 3P at that point (not counting the 2015 series where he wasn’t a star yet). Again, he shouldn’t be blameless for the Bucks losing in the playoffs, but it seemed that his overall playoff struggles were being blown out of proportion.
Now, we arrive at this season. A season that will go a long way towards determining how Giannis is going to be viewed for a while. It was another great regular season, but the playoffs are what determine everything. Will he go out early again and further prove to his doubters that he can’t be that dude, or will this be the year everything changes?
The Bucks swept the Heat in the 1st round despite Giannis not being fantastic (once again a tough matchup for him), and they then had to face the Nets.
Giannis’ legacy-changing series.
The Bucks got killed in the first 2 games of the series, and Giannis really struggled in game 2. It looked like the Bucks were going to be eliminated early again, and the Giannis takes were once again flying.
How Giannis responded is something that might end up changing his legacy forever if the Bucks go on and win a title. He averaged 34.2 points on 56% shooting in the remaining 5 games of the series, and was going toe-to-toe with Kevin Durant in each game. The Bucks tied the series 2-2 heading back to Brooklyn, and this is when we reached another point where Giannis was declared “not that guy.”
The Bucks blew a 17-point second half lead and lost game 5, giving the Nets the big upper hand in the series. Giannis’ numbers in that game? 34 points, 12 rebounds, 14-22 shooting, and 2-4 from three. Yet he received nothing but criticism.
He did struggle a bit down the stretch with some questionable shot selection, missed free throws, and fumbling a pass on a crucial possession late. It was a microcosm of Giannis’ playoff career… did he deserve some blame? Yes, but the criticism nowhere near matched how he actually played. Once again, social media pretty much held Giannis’ funeral, declaring that he was never going to the be the guy, couldn’t be the best player on a championship team, and the Bucks were done.
And he responded again.
He put up 30 points in game 6 on 12-20 shooting to help force a game 7 in Brooklyn, and in the biggest game of his career in game 7, he dropped 40 on 15-24 shooting with some huge baskets late. The greatest game of his career.
His dominance has continued in the Eastern Conference Finals so far, where he is averaging 30.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists on 59% FG over the first 3 games. You’re probably still not going to realize how great he has been, because the media only wants to talk about how long he takes on his free throws, but yeah, he has been GREAT.
Since he was basically declared dead after game 2 against Brooklyn, Giannis is averaging 32.9 points and 12.9 rebounds on 57% FG, 60% TS, and 59% eFG.
Here’s the other thing: he’s still only 26. It may feel as though Giannis has somehow failed countless times in the playoffs, but the reality is this is only his 3rd real chance at a ring, and he will have plenty more opportunities in the future. Here are just a few stats that put some of what Giannis is doing into context.
The only players with more 30-point playoff games by age 26 are LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Allen Iverson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The only players with more 30/10/5 playoff games by age 26 are LeBron James and Oscar Robertson.
The only players with more 30-point playoff games on 50+% shooting by age 26 are Kevin Durant and LeBron James.
The only players with more 30-point, 10-rebound playoff games by age 26 are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Elgin Baylor.
No player in NBA history has averaged at least 29/13/5 on 50+% shooting during a playoff run besides 2021 Giannis.
Giannis currently has a 7-game streak of scoring 25+ points on 50+% FG. That is tied for the 4th-longest such playoff streak of all-time, and he is just 3 games away from tying the record (held by both Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James).
No player since 2000 has more 30-point, 10-rebound games in a single postseason than 2021 Giannis.
The attention continues to go more to his lack of bag and his free throw shooting, but make no mistake about it: Giannis Antetokounmpo is a playoff star… and he always has been. It was dumb to call him a playoff choker in the past, and it’s just flat out wrong to say it now. The only question now is if he can finish it off and become a champion.
