NEW YORK — Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted this one.
As he compiled numbers and climbed over names in respective Milwaukee Bucks and NBA recorded histories these last few seasons, he has allowed himself to briefly recognize the moment before moving beyond it. But-but-never too far in advance. It’s a mental tightrope he’s become comfortable on.
This one, however, was different.
“It’s cool,” he acknowledged a few games before he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s franchise scoring mark Thursday night at the Barclays Center, which came on a step-back 3-pointer over Brooklyn center Andre Drummond with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game with the Nets 110-110.
“How many points 14,000-something? ohhh! I’m a bucket! I’m a bucket! It’s fun, you know?
So much so he had a scene play out in his head of how he wanted it to go.
“I hope they stop the game so I can get the ball,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel through a smile. “Probably they won’t. It is what it is. I want it to be like, do you know when Kobe passed MJ? The whole game stopped and he took the ball and he was like…”
He lifted his hand high, cupping an imaginary ball, and he turned slowly to acknowledge an imaginary crowd.
“I want to do the same.”
Unfortunately, the game operations crew in Brooklyn did not mark that moment for him, and the ball remained in play. I have finished Thursday’s game with 44 points, including the game-winning free throws with just three seconds to go in overtime.
It took Antetokounmpo 652 games in nine seasons to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 14,211 points, set in 467 games over six seasons from 1969-1975. The 3-point shot didn’t come into the NBA until 1979, so all of Abdul-Jabbar’s points came via two-point field goals (5,902) and free throws (2,407).
“Geez, that’s insane,” said Bucks center Brook Lopez, who came into the league in 2008 as a post-oriented center. He attempted only seven 3-pointers in his first six years in scoring 6,168 of his franchise record-setting point total with the Nets.
He couldn’t gather any more thoughts as he kept laughing at Abdul-Jabbar’s total.
“That’s so nuts. There was no 3-point line. I mean…it’s…wow. 14,000 in six? That’s insane. That’s… you can’t believe those numbers. That’s wild.”
Antetokounmpo eclipsed the mark in his ninth year with his 14th basket of the night. At the moment he became the franchise leader in points, Antetokounmpo had made 4,704 two-point field goals, 445 3-pointers and 3,471 free throws.
Both men were 27 years old when they set the records.
“Shout out and congratulations to Giannis because when all this is said and done, is there such a thing as 1A and 1B in terms of the greatest players in the history of the franchise? And I think that’s the way it will be viewed,” said Hall of Famer Bob Dandridge, who played his first six seasons with Abdul-Jabbar. “Neither one has been any more significant in the history of the ballclub. Unless Giannis can slip in there and win one or two more championships, then he may surface above Kareem!”
I have laughed.
“We will see. But Giannis has surely been a tremendous credit to the organization.”
Jon McGlocklin also played with Abdul-Jabbar and was the television analyst for the team through 2017.
“It’s a remarkable story that I don’t think is ever – I’ve been associated with NBA 56 years – and I’ve played against and with the great ones back in the early 60s, mid 60s, the 70s, and who came along even close to this story?” McGlocklin said, his voice hitting a high pitch of disbelief. “That came out of left field and became what he’s become. He never seen it. You can’t name anybody that was that much of a surprise and grew in the NBA. Because most of the great ones came in, even back then, with big credentials out of college. But not Giannis. It’s a remarkable story.”
Bucks all-star Khris Middleton, who has been there every step – and every point – along the way with Antetokounmpo, agreed.
“That’s what makes it even better – he worked for all of this,” he told the Journal Sentinel. “I believed in his skill set from him. He believed in himself. I believed in how great he could be and he worked for it. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what makes his story about him even better. A lot of people – I wouldn’t necessarily say counted him out – but didn’t believe the potential that he actually had.”
Lopez is the only other member of the Bucks to hold a franchise scoring record, as he scored 10,444 points in nine seasons with the Nets. He set the mark in 2017 while also on the road in Boston.
“For me, it was crazy,” Lopez recalled to the Journal Sentinel. “I grew up as a fan of the league and everything like that and to be a scoring leader for one of these teams is pretty wild – one of 30 teams. That’s rarefied air. It was a great honor for me. It made me appreciate all the players I played with, the coaches that helped me get where I was to put me in those positions to succeed.
“For Giannis to be in the position he is, with this franchise, and Kareem’s record – that’s freakin’ amazing. That speaks to the player he is.”
Contact Jim Owczarski at [email protected]. Follow him on TwitterInstagram and Snapchat at @JimOwczarski or Facebook at facebook.com/JOwczarski.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism