Giannis Antetokounmpo has had some incredible performances, but I can't imagine him ever topping Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals. He put up 50 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks to cement a title for the Bucks. In that game, he hit one 3-pointer, added 17 points at the free throw line and scored 30 in the paint. It was bully ball taken to its logical extreme.
He wasn't going to let the Milwaukee Bucks lose, and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him from scoring. That meant an endless procession of battering-ram drives and powerful finishes through contact. For a player with an incredible array of skills, he delivered by paring things down to the basics — I dare you to stop me, and I'm not going to adapt until you do.
We've seen that version of him here and there in the four seasons since, but he now has plenty of other ways to beat an opponent. And as the Bucks have struggled to get back to the top of the mountain, we've watched him try every other variation. Right now, though, he's back to basics.
Giannis is playing like a human battering ram
Through seven games, the Bucks are 5-2. They're getting solid contributions from unexpected places — second-round cast-off Ryan Rollins has become an above average starter, and fourth-year guard AJ Green has been red-hot from beyond the arc. But, really, their hot start is almost all about Giannis.
He hit a fall-away jumper at the buzzer to beat the Pacers, he's leading the league in scoring and averaging 34.2 points, 13.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.8 steals per game. Between his scoring and assists, he's been directly responsible for an absurd 53.5 points per game. But even more important than the actual numbers is how he's accomplishing it.
Stop me, I dare you.
Through seven games, Giannis is averaging 23.3 points in the paint per game with a huge lead over second place, Luka Dončić at 17.0. In fact, the difference between Giannis and Luka is roughly the same as the difference between Luka and Jaylen Brown, ranked 29th.
Stop me, I dare you.
Giannis has led the league in this stat in five of his 12 previous seasons, but he's only broken 20 once before (in 2023-24) and Zion Williamson is the only other player to do it in the same time span. All of which is to say, we're seeing him take bully ball to a new level this season — both for himself and for the league as a whole.
Stop me, I dare you.
He's shooting 72.2 percent on elbow touches, 74.3 percent on drives and 82.1 percent on all shots within five feet of the basket. He is not suddenly threatening a defense with shooting range or advanced ball-handling moves to open space. Giannis is telegraphing exactly what he's going to do, and still winning almost all of these individual battles.
Stop me, I dare you.
It's all incredible to watch, but I'll admit I'm not sure what exactly to make of it. Giannis is 30 and playing this style — a version of how he normally plays, just with the physicality turned up to 11 — has to take a toll. Like I said, he's winning a ton of battles, but I'm not sure the Bucks can win a war with this game plan. On one hand, this reflects an incredible commitment to Milwaukee, and you have to respect his willingness to endure this much punishment to deliver wins for his team. On the other, every bull-in-a-china-shop drive is a reminder that the Bucks have failed to build a more versatile and competitive roster around him.
I — rightly — took some criticism for wondering if needing to play this hard and this well just to keep the Bucks on the outer edge of hypothetical contention might ultimately push Giannis away. It's a thief-of-joy question, and I'm taking the nudge to be a better basketball fan. For now, who cares where this leads? Let's just enjoy one of the best and most unique players in the history of the game, elevating a cast of lovable underdogs and dominating the competition with force of will.
Stop me, I dare you.
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Quick Hitter: Those Hornets rookies
The vast majority of pre-draft attention was focused on Cooper Flagg, but the first two weeks of the season have shown just how deep the 2025 NBA Draft was. VJ Edgecombe has been incredible, Cedric Coward is already a mainstay in the Grizzlies rotation and others like Collin Murray-Boyles, Dylan Harper and Tre Johnson have flashed their potential.
But so far, the Hornets look like they may have been the draft's biggest winners. They went into the draft with picks No. 4, No. 33 and No. 34 and also traded to get No. 29 from the Phoenix Suns. They walked away with Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Knueppel is averaging 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, and already set a record for the most 3-pointers in the first seven games of a player's career. McNeeley hasn't really cracked the rotation yet, but his shooting and size are too good for him not to play at least a bit role at some point. Kalkbrenner has taken over as the starting center, is leading the league in field goal percentage and averaging 9.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. James has been incredible as one of the first wings off the bench — 13-of-18 from beyond the arc and 10 assists to just 4 turnovers.
That's two rookies in the starting lineup and one in a sixth-man role, for a team off to a 3-4 start. There is still a lot of learning to do, but this is a talented young team with more depth and versatility than they've ever been able to assemble around LaMelo Ball. For the first time in a long time, things are really looking up in Charlotte.