Giannis Antetokounmpo Named MVP of All-Star Game
16 shots, 16 buckets.
Last night was the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, a time for the absolute who’s-who of association to get together and kick each other’s metaphorical butts in a game of champions. After the draft, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks put the status of the assembled Team LeBron rather succinctly, saying “It’s over, guys. Me, LeBron, Luka, Jokic and Steph. Man, that’s a good starting five.”
Unsurprisingly, he ended up being absolutely right. In their All-Star Game against Team Durant, the titans of Team LeBron took home the trophy after a close 170-150 victory. It was a pretty straightforward game, not a lot of drama, but the star of the night was undoubtedly Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo earned the game’s MVP title for setting a perfect shot ratio of 16 shots, 16 baskets, walking away with 35 points in total, as well as seven rebounds. He basically couldn’t have played this game any better.
2x NBA MVP. 1x Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP. pic.twitter.com/dn43bYeKBT
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 8, 2021
“It’s fun,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “It’s fun. I was happy, my teammates had fun. Just being around great players it’s easy to play with.”
With this game, Antetokounmpo has set a new All-Star record for most shots attempted without misses. In fact, his 16-16 ratio was actually a perfect doubling of the previous record of 8-8, set by Hal Greer back in 1968. Thanks to his success in this game, Antetokounmpo’s All-Star scoring average has also risen to 28.8, another All-Star record.
“Usually [the bank] is closed, but for me it was open,” Antetokounmpo joked. “It was extended hours. I called ahead so it was open.”