In the latest basketball-reference.com 2022-23 NBA MVP Award Tracker, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is ranked fifth behind Nikola Jokic, Joel Embid, Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum.
No matter what your opinion on this ranking, what cannot be denied is that Giannis is again having a terrific, maybe MVP-type season… 31.3 points per game, 12 rebounds per contest, and 5.3 assists per game. It seems that with each game he plays there is another milestone reached or he joins an elite group of players in some statistical category.
Here’s a look at four stats milestones that Giannis is currently chasing.
Giannis on pace for eighth straight 300-assist season
One: In Friday’s win over Indiana, Giannis had six assists bringing his season total to 201. With 33 games remaining in the season and a per-game average of 5.3 assists per contest, Giannis, if he was to play every game (highly unlikely) would be on a pace to finish the season with about 376 assists. Giannis is currently one of 17 players in NBA history to have five or more seasons where he averaged 25 or more points per game and ended with more than 300 assists. The 17 players with the number of seasons in their careers with these numbers (25.0 points per game and 300 assists):
18-LeBron James
11-Kobe Bryant, Jerry West
10-Michael Jordan
9-Allen Iverson, Oscar Robertson
8-James Harden, Alex English
7-Kevin Durant
6-Damian Lillard, Steph Curry, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5-Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dwyane Wade, Tracy McGrady, Pete Maravich
If Giannis finishes the season with a 30.0 points per game average and 300 or more assists, it will be his first 30 points per game-300 assists season in his career.
Giannis could become only third player in league history with 31/12/5 season
Two: With 31.3/12/5.3, Giannis could become the sixth player in NBA history to have a 30/12/5 season. The other players: Wilt Chamberlain (he did it twice; in 1963-64 and 1965-66), Oscar Robertson (he did it twice; in 1960-61 and 1961-62), Russell Westbrook (2016-17), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1972-73) and Elgin Baylor (1960-61).
For the record, with a current stat line of 31.3/12/5.3, Giannis could also become only the third player in league history to finish a season with a 31/12/5 season. The others are Chamberlain and Robertson, who both accomplished this feat in the 1960s.
Seven consecutive seasons with 500+ free throws for Giannis
Three: With 18 free throw attempts in the game against Indiana, Giannis reached the 500-free throw attempts milestone for the seventh season in his career. He is one of 35 players in the league who has shot 500+ free throws in seven or more seasons. Karl Malone leads this group with 16 seasons with 500+ free thrown attempts followed by LeBron James and Moses Malone each with 13 seasons.
Giannis ranks 12th in most career triple-doubles before age 30
Four: Giannis has two triple-doubles this season giving his 31 for his career. His 31 career triple-doubles before he hits age 30 is the 12th most in league history (Giannis is 28 years-53 days old and will have about 130 more games to play before he turns 30 to increase this number). Oscar Robertson tops this list with 163 triple-doubles before age 30 followed by Magic Johnson (113) and Russell Westbrook (104).
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