Milwaukee Bucks fans have long come to terms with the fact that Giannis Antetokounmpo will not be playing in this year’s iteration of the much-awaited NBA Finals. Nevertheless, now that the seven-game series has finally arrived, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like if the Bucks were able to win the East again this year.
That’s obviously all just wishful thinking at this point, but it still doesn’t take away from the fact that Giannis is still in possession of one of the most impressive NBA Finals records in the game today — a notion that the Milwaukee faithful can take comfort in as they watch the Boston Celtics attempt to win title No. 18 against the Dallas Mavericks.
Milwaukee Bucks News: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Incredible NBA Finals Record
Giannis has played just six games in the NBA Finals throughout his career. This was during the 2020-21 season when they defeated the Phoenix Suns to bring back the championship to Milwaukee for the first time in five decades.
In case you forgot, now would be an ideal time to remind you that Antetokounmpo amazingly averaged 35.2 points in that series, which happens to be the highest scoring tally of any active player in the league today:
Most career PPG in the Finals:
36.3 — Rick Barry (10 GP)
35.6 — Allen Iverson (5)
35.2 — Giannis Antetokounmpo (6)
33.6 — Michael Jordan (35)
30.5 — Jerry West (55)
30.3 — Kevin Durant (15)
30.2 — Nikola Jokic (5)The only players to average 30+ PPG. pic.twitter.com/NgHbKhWZhX
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 4, 2024
The fact that Giannis sits above the GOAT himself, Michael Jordan, on this particular list says it all.
Giannis Vs. Jayson Tatum
To provide further comfort for Bucks fans who might be feeling a little bit left out at this point in the postseason, here’s how Antetokounmpo’s NBA Finals scoring record compares to that of Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum:
Giannis Finals Averages : 35/13/5/1/2 (66% TS)
Tatum Best Finals Game : 27/10/4/0/0 (60% TS)
Don't ever try to compare these two… pic.twitter.com/nJ3LhGf0Wu
— Bucks Muse (@BucksMuse) June 6, 2024
More importantly, Giannis and the Bucks have a championship ring to show for, while Tatum and Co. have nada. The Celtics, however, will be doing everything they can to change that narrative in the coming weeks.
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