Antetokounmpo joins James and Jordan after NBA title heroics

Giannis Antetokounmpo has joined the likes of LeBron James and Michael Jordan to become one of just eight players to score more than 50 points in an NBA Finals.

The ‘Greek Freak’ was a unanimous choice for the Bill Russell Finals MVP award after he led the Milwaukee Bucks to their first championship title for 50 years.

They defeated the Phoenix Suns 105-98 in game six of this year’s finals to take a 4-2 series win, becoming just the fifth team to win the best-of-seven series after losing the first two games.

Antetokounmpo put in one of the best performances of his career to carry the Bucks to the win after also being named the regular-season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.

The 26-year-old was the Bucks star as he scored 50 points, including 33 in the second-half alone, as well as claiming 14 rebounds and making five blocks.

His final point came with the game-sealing free throw with just 9.8 seconds remaining at the Fiserv Forum.

He had already scored at least 40 points and made 10 rebounds in three of the other games of the series, leaving his with an average of 35.2 points and 13.2 rebounds across the Finals.

Those averages meant that he is just the second player behind LA Lakers star James to average more than 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a final series.

His astonishing second-half performance, which included a succession of free throws as he bullied the Suns, ensured he is just the second player in the past 50 years to score 33 in a Finals half.

The only other player to match that is former Chicago Bulls star Jordan, while he is in a league of his own when it comes to scoring more than 30 points in multiple halves in an NBA Finals series.

Antetokounmpo has now taken his place as one of the greatest players of the modern era of the NBA, with his first ever title being the Bucks first since 1971.

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