Greek Greatness: Giannis is the greatest Bucks Player of All Time

Life, as a Milwaukee Bucks fan, has been tough at times.

Not too long ago, this Milwaukee Bucks franchise, a team that was so dearly loved in the 70s and 80s was hanging in the balance. There was a real possibility that the Bucks could move out of the beautiful city of Milwaukee and onto a new destination in a new city.

Fortunately, things can change, and sometimes rather quickly too–which is what happened for the Milwaukee Bucks and all their fans.

Before we dive into all the details, let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we? I was hoping you could take a little journey back to the summer of 2013. The Bucks were coming off an up and down season, led by coach Scott Skiles, and finishing with a 38-44 record, which was good enough for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. There was no real star or foundation piece on this team—a bunch of good players who were just trying to make the playoffs.

Although the Bucks finished with a losing record that season, it was not enough to move into the lottery selection of the NBA Draft. Any real chance of landing a franchise-altering star was slim to none until it happened.

June 27th, 2013, is a day that most Milwaukee Bucks fans will remember for a long time, maybe their lifetime, and more than likely, tell their kids what this day meant to them as a fan.

Milwaukee held the 15th overall selection; again, outside of the lottery, and it was hard to imagine the Bucks landing any real star to help change the fortune of this franchise. Free agents weren’t coming to little old Milwaukee. Ownership had to overpay for older players, and the team wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Again, as I said before, things change,  and sometimes rather quickly.

Fast forward to today, and the Bucks are currently sitting with one of the best records in the NBA, and oh, by the way, they are the defending champions, in case anyone has forgotten. The biggest reason why? Giannis Antetokounmpo.

When the Bucks selected Giannis with the 15th overall pick in that draft, many were unsure of his potential. Some called him a “mystery,” and others referred to him with “potential” and the chance to have “huge upside.” He was a skinny kid who used to sleep at his gym in Greece between practices and just arrived to the United States three weeks prior to the draft. He indeed was an unknown to the world of basketball.

That potential and upside has since flourished for Giannis and the Bucks. It’s time we start talking about Giannis, not only as one of the best players in today’s game but the best player in Milwaukee Bucks franchise history.

The Giannis Antetokounmpo economic effect

When Giannis was drafted, the Bucks were underperforming with an extremely overaged arena.

The Bradley Center opened in October of 1988 and had served the Bucks for almost 30 years. The building itself was falling apart–inside and out. From every angle imaginable, the city of Milwaukee was facing real pressure to move the team out of the state. They weren’t winning games. Tickets weren’t being sold. No one bought the merchandise. It was very bleak and beginning to look like a move was inevitable.

This is where Giannis comes into play. The Bucks, as I mentioned earlier, had no real star. They didn’t have a player to market and help change their culture. However, Giannis was still growing. When he was drafted, he was 6’9 and weighed in at 196 pounds. His rookie year was a lot of learning to survive in an NBA game and living in the United States.

His family had been denied American visas twice, and by the law, a denial of the third attempt would result in his family never making it to the states. Giannis was facing so much in his rookie year, on and off the court. He was completely devoted to his family. They meant everything to him, and he was struggling with the reality they may never make it to America.

The theme of this, as mentioned before, is that things change and sometimes rather quickly. Giannis’ family would finally get the approval they rightfully deserved, and he would once again have his family at his side. That’s about the time his game slowly started to take off as well. His jump from year one to year two was noticeable, and by year four, he was turning heads and landing on SportsCenter’s top-10 plays of the night.

By year four, not only was Giannis turning heads on the court but what he was accomplishing off the court was making headlines as well.

The Bucks took notice, the city took notice, and deadlines eventually spurred actions.

The Bucks officially announced the ground-breaking construction of a brand new, state-of-the-art arena on June 18th, 2016, marking almost an exact three-year anniversary of their 2013 selection of Giannis.

The Fiserv Forum was finalized and opened in the summer of 2018. A brand new arena with beautiful amenities and a “Deer District” that would eventually hold over 500,000 fans outside of the arena to watch games on giant TVs. New businesses would flock to the downtown area. Ticket sales were skyrocketing, merchandise and jerseys flying off the racks. The economic impact Giannis was providing was something no other player in Bucks history has done. The city was transforming around their guy.

The Bucks had their guy, a star in the making, and someone they could build not only a team around but a city around.

Bucks fans of old would become fans of new

It’s no secret in and around Milwaukee that the Bucks were struggling–on the court as well as off the court.

During and after the 2016-2017 season, Giannis was starting to change the culture in Milwaukee. He had just been selected for his first-ever all-star game, and fans were beginning to notice.

Slowly but surely, anywhere you went, No. 34 shirts and jerseys were popping up everywhere. It had been such a long time since the basketball fans in Wisconsin and Bucks fans around the world had something to cheer for, and the driving force behind it all was, indeed, Giannis.

I spoke to multiple Bucks fans and gathered their opinions on Giannis and what he has meant to them, not just on the court but off the court as well. Matthew Reiels, a Wisconsin native, had high praise for Antetokounmpo:

"“Giannis has helped rediscover how much I love the Bucks. Giannis has reinvigorated the franchise and the city. He IS Bucks basketball and should already have a statue outside Fiserv. Without Giannis I’m not sure the Bucks are still in Milwaukee, the Fiserv isn’t built, there is no championship. Giannis is a living legend and the fact he seems to love Milwaukee and can win just makes him impossible to dislike.”"

Lisa Sneide, a lifelong Bucks fan, and my beautiful mother, had high praise for Giannis as well, most notably what he does after games for the younger fans.

"“Where to start? Giannis is a great role model. His hard work and determination has earned him the MVP and the best in the world! He is such a team player and appreciates all his teammates. He has brought the “life” back to our Milwaukee Bucks. One of my favorites is watching him when he sees kids cheering him on goes over and signs a shoe or jersey and gives it to them.I will forever be a Giannis fan and a fan of the Antetokounmpo family.”"

Giannis’s effect on fans, new and old, continues to grow day by day. Tony Machi, a Wisconsin native who currently resides in Texas, talked about hope and pride around his fandom of the Bucks.

"“Giannis gave me hope and pride as a Bucks fan. Growing up in Milwaukee the young fans didn’t think it was cool to be a Bucks fan. Now it’s cool and other city’s fans come to Bucks road games to see Giannis. Now we have one of the best arenas, entertainment districts, teams and of course we have Giannis… best player in the world!”"

The constant terms used in most fans’ reactions were “hope,” “inspiration,” “loyalty,” and “determination.”

Giannis has not only changed Milwaukee basketball on the court, but he has rejuvenated the fandom amongst Bucks fans, which, at one point, was very bleak.

One man responsible for encouraging an entire generation of fans and uniting his city.

Peak Greek

When the Bucks selected the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, that was a move the franchise needed and one that would change the record books. In six seasons, Abdul-Jabbar would become the franchise’s all-time points leader with 14,211.

But now, a record most thought to be impossible to break is on the verge of being shattered this year.

Giannis is just over 200 points away from becoming the Buck’s all-time leader in points. I spoke to Bucks Hall-of-Famer and the “Orignal Buck” Jon McGlockin to gather his thoughts on Giannis and the record books. McGlockin, if you remember, was a teammate of Kareem and watched Giannis transform from that skinny kid from Greece to Milwaukee’s ultimate Hulk.

"There are many things that make Giannis as good as he is but the big ones are the physique and physical ability that God gave him and his outstanding work ethic.”"

The numbers are there for Giannis, so I asked McGlocklin, “who is the greatest Buck ever to put on the uniform?”

"“Greatest Bucks player on the court it would be Kareem, Oscar Robertson and Giannis Antetokounmpo.”"

Before the age of 27, Giannis has accomplished more than most do in a span of a whole career—winning multiple MVP awards, defensive player of the year in 2020, All-star game MVP, most-improved player, being a part of the All-NBA team, being selected to the last six All-Star games, and most recently, being named to the NBA’s top 75-anniversary team. And now, he’s set to own the franchise scoring record.

Not bad for that skinny kid from Greece.

Loyalty runs deep for Giannis

Being a star in today’s NBA usually means moving to a big-time city. For Giannis, Milwaukee was his home,  his city, and surrounded by his people.

Time was ticking for Giannis and his future. Where would he play after his Bucks’ contract was up? What would he do? Most talking heads in the media world seemingly had his destination picked out for him—whether that be Miami, LA, New York, and the list went on and on.

Giannis is simply built differently. He didn’t chase the sunshine and palm trees. He didn’t need to go team up with other stars, he did things the way every player should do. He strived for greatness and set out to accomplish what he promised he would years prior—win a championship for his city.

"“This is my city. They trust me. They believe in me. They believe in us.”"

Giannis quietly went about his business, and he always has, and eventually signed his supermax contract with the Bucks, putting all the chatter to bed and focusing on the one thing he’s always truly loved–basketball. The same ones that doubted his ability to play the game he loves were the same ones who doubted he could ever win a championship in little old Milwaukee.

It’s almost like defying all the odds against him is the “Antetokounmpo way.” Growing up in Greece, selling trinkets on the streets to survive, sleeping in gyms, sharing shoes with his brothers, all of that and more, were just the beginning of beating the odds for Giannis.

As I’m sure many Bucks fans can recall hearing, “Giannis will never win a championship in a small market” “He can’t do this, he can’t do that.” It’s all any Bucks fans ever heard until July 20th, 2021, when all that chatter, all that noise, finally, for a single moment, went away.

Giannis, in front of a sellout crowd of his people at the Fiserv Forum, with hundreds of thousands — yes, hundreds of thousands — packed in the Deer District to watch their guy put on one of the most incredible NBA Finals performances of all time.

Finally, after 50 years of waiting, the once skinny kid from Greece, the one who they said could never do it, brought a championship to the city of Milwaukee.

"“This should make every person, every kid, anybody around the world to believe in their dreams. I hope I give people around the world from Africa, from Europe, give them hope that it can be done. Eight and a half years ago, before I came into the league, I didn’t know where my next meal would come from. My mom was selling stuff in the street.”“Don’t let nobody tell you what you can’t be and what you cannot do. People told me I can’t make free throws. I made my free throws tonight. I made them, and I’m a freaking champion.”"

2013. A year that changed the fate of a city, an organization, and fans worldwide.

Like me, if you are a Bucks fan, Giannis is ours, and we are his.

He is, without question, the greatest Milwaukee Buck — ever — on and off the court.