At a critical moment in Game Four of the NBA Finals Giannis Antetokounmpo was first one place, then another, and now the same can be said of his career.
The Greek Freak’s block of Deandre Ayton’s dunk attempt with a little over a minute left Wednesday night preserved Milwaukee’s two-point lead over Phoenix, in a game the Bucks would go on to win by six. The series, now tied at two games apiece, resumes with Game Five on Saturday night in Phoenix.
But more than that, the play — the signature moment (so far) of Giannis’s eight-year career — represents the shiniest part of a glittering mosaic he has assembled on the NBA’s brightest stage, one that has forced all of us to view him in an entirely new light. While the two-time MVP’s greatness was already undeniable, he has just as often been defined by what he cannot do — i.e., shoot free throws and 3-pointers — as what he can.
He has, in short, been underrated.
Now, that’s out the window. Now we define him by his relentlessness, by his will, by the sheer abandon with which he plays, at both ends of the floor. It stands in stark contrast to a player like Ben Simmons, who possesses a similar skill set but an entirely dissimilar approach. Simmons, who also struggles at the foul line, ceases to attack the rim in tight games, as evidenced by the fact that he took three shots in the fourth quarters of the Sixers’ seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal loss to Atlanta — none in the last four games.
Giannis, on the other hand, just … keeps … coming. He is a force of nature, totally imperturbable, totally undiscourage-able. He might come up empty at the line, but next time down, he’s still attacking. Nothing ever seems to faze him.
And his effort carries over to the other end. Just go back and watch that block on Ayton. The Suns ran a great play, a pick-and-roll with Devin Booker, their combustible guard, and Ayton, who in this postseason has done as much to raise his stock as any player in the league.
As Booker drove the right side of the lane, Giannis sloughed off Ayton for just a moment, and Ayton rolled to the rim. Booker’s lob pass was true, but Antetokounmpo, having deciphered the play perfectly, retreated to the rim through some feat of prestidigitation, there to deny Ayton.
The block drew instant comparisons to one LeBron James, then with Cleveland, made on Golden State’s Andre Iguodala in the 2016 Finals. Sorry, not willing to go there. While Giannis made an exceptional play, James’ block came in the closing minutes of a Game Seven, spurring the Cavs — once down 3-1 in the series — to the title.
Still, there was much to admire about Giannis’s gem, as it brought order to a game marred by messy officiating. There appeared to be nothing Booker, amid a 42-point explosion, could do to draw his sixth and final personal, short of extracting a foreign object from his shorts like some old-time pro wrestler. His teammate, Jae Crowder, in the meantime flopped with the theatrical flair of a European soccer player, and succeeded in drawing whistles in his favor.
The Bucks won not only because of Giannis’ brilliance — he finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks — but because Khris Middleton dropped 40 points, including 10 of his team’s final 12. And Jrue Holiday, who for most of the series has struggled at the offensive end, continues to make life difficult for Chris Paul, picking him up fullcourt and wearing him to a nub.
So here we are — three games left, two of them in Phoenix. If it appeared after the first two games of the series that the Suns were quicker than the Bucks at every position, it now looks like Milwaukee is bigger and stronger at every spot.
No telling how things might go from here. The only thing that’s clear is that Phoenix coach Monty Williams, a man of unusual strength and dignity, will continue to dig deep into his motivational bag of tricks, as was the case during a timeout when Ayton was struggling in Game Two and again in the locker room after Game Four.
“Everything you want,” he told his players, “is on the other side of hard.”
It is, more than anything else, on the other side of Giannis. It is a side that many of us have never seen before, and a side few ever reach. But he’s made it. He’s moved from one place to another, with breathtaking ease.