As a five-time NBA All-Defensive team selection and the 2019-20 league Defensive Player of the Year, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s defensive skills have rarely been questioned. Within the next 10-12 games, there’s a chance Giannis will be joining a rare club that celebrates his all-around defensive talents.
Giannis needs 10 steals for 5,000-800-800 defensive stats
Giannis is 10 steals short of becoming the 36th player in NBA history to have 5,000 defensive rebounds, 800 blocked shots and 800 steals. Through games of January 1, 2023, Giannis has 5,317 career defensive rebounds, 884 career blocks, and 790 career steals.
He will also become the 52nd player in league history to have 800 career blocked shots and 800 career steals.
The Bucks do not have a franchise player with 5,000-800-800, so Giannis will become the first. He is currently the only Bucks’ player with 5,000 defensive rebounds. He is one of two Bucks players with 800 blocked shots (Alton Lister with 804 is the other), and when Giannis reaches the 800-steals milestone, he will be the fourth in the franchise to reach that number (Quinn Buckner-1,042, Paul Pressey-894 and Sidney Moncrief-874).
The NBA’s 5,000-800-800 club
Here are the 35 current members of this unique 5,000-800-800 club.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley, Elton Brand, P.J. Brown, Marcus Camby, Vlade Divac, Andre Drummond, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Patrick Ewing, Kevin Garnett, Horace Grant.
Elvin Hayes, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shawn Kemp, Sam Lacey, Karl Malone, Moses Malone, Shawn Marion, Paul Millsap, Larry Nance, Dirk Nowitzki.
Lamar Odom, Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Parrish, Sam Perkins, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Jack Sikma, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Chris Webber, Buck Williams.
Of the players listed above, three are active in the league this season: Andre Drummond, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James.
Giannis has been in the Top 20 for most defensive rebounds in nine seasons; he finished ninth in steals in 2016-17 and has been Top 20 in the NBA in blocked shots in six seasons.
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