After seeing the results of the 2021 NBA All-Star Game draft earlier this week, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had a simple message: “It’s over, guys. Me, LeBron, Luka, Jokic and Steph. Man, that’s a good starting five.”
His words were prophetic, as Team LeBron cruised to a 170-150 win over Team Durant on Sunday night in a game that was rather short on drama. There were some memorable moments, however, including a few from the Greek Freak himself, who finished with 35 points and seven rebounds on a perfect 16-of-16 from the field and was named the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP.
Giannis’ shooting performance was an All-Star record for the most shots attempted without a miss. In fact, he doubled the previous mark set by Hal Greer, who shot 8-of-8 from the field back in 1968. Giannis also increased his All-Star scoring average to 28.8 points per game, which is another record.
“It’s fun,” Giannis said postgame. “It’s fun. I was happy, my teammates had fun. Just being around great players it’s easy to play with.”
One of the most obvious displays of that fun and friendship came late in the second quarter, when Giannis drained a step-back 3 and celebrated by jumping for joy with Nikola Jokic as they ran back down the court.
Those two even had some fun on the bench, showing off their smooth dance moves.
Another great moment came in the third quarter when Giannis was controlling the ball out on the wing. He broke out some dribbling moves and launched a 3 while the broadcast crew all yelled “NO!” That quickly changed to “YES!” when the ball hit the backboard and nestled into the net.
“Usually [the bank] is closed, but for me it was open,” Giannis joked. “It was extended hours. I called ahead so it was open.”