Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo believes his latest milestone should serve as a testament to his consistent work ethic.
Antetokounmpo scored 32 points in a 137-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday to increase his career total to 20,010, becoming the 52nd player to reach that mark. The only players to score 20,000 career points at a younger age than the 30-year-old Antetokounmpo were LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
“I hope a lot of people see me and I represent the people who might not have it all, might not be the most talented people, but they are disciplined and they show up every night to do the right thing,” Antetokounmpo said. “No matter the outcome, they keep coming back and keep on being disciplined in their craft. I hope I can represent all those people.”
The Bucks aired a video honoring Antetokounmpo during the timeout that immediately followed him crossing the 20,000-point mark. He became the second player on Milwaukee’s roster to join the 20,000-point mark, as Damian Lillard got there last season.
Lillard noted how Antetokounmpo compiled all those points in a much different way.
“In a time where the league is shooting a lot of 3s and a lot of scorers shoot a lot of 3s, for him to be doing it mostly in the paint and at the rim and at the free throw line, that’s tough,” Lillard said. “A lot of physical buckets. He’s playing through a lot of contact consistently. So even more so for him, your body has to be able to take that. You’ve got to be able to sustain that style of play for a long period of time. It says a lot about him.”
The five players to score 20,000 points at a younger age than Antetokounmpo all went on to reach the 30,000-point mark as well.
Giannis expects to join them.