NBA & EuroLeague recap: Giannis Antetokounmpo asserts his dominance
Check out our weekly look at European and African players in the top two leagues in the world. In this week's recap, the 'Greek Freak' powers his way into an early MVP discussion, the Stifle Tower earns his moniker, and a French youngster continues his hot streak in EuroLeague action.
Basketball
Welcome to another instalment of our NBA & EuroLeague recap, where we take a look at the European and African players who excelled over the course of the past week in the top two basketball leagues in the world.
In this week's recap, the 'Greek Freak' powers his way into an early MVP discussion, the Stifle Tower earns his moniker, and a French youngster continues his hot streak in EuroLeague action.
NB: points per game (ppg), rebounds per game (rpg), assists per game (apg), blocks per game (bpg), steals per game (spg), field goal percentage (FG%)
Giannis Antetokounmpo | Greece | Milwaukee Bucks (NBA)
17-22 November Stats
28.0 ppg, 14.0 rpg, 6.0 apg, 2.5 bpg, 1.5 spg, .497 FG%
Bucks 109-102 Lakers| Bucks 96-89 Thunder | Bucks 117-108 Magic | Bucks 123-92 Magic
The reigning NBA champions started off their title defence a little slowly as injuries to key players (including Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton) meant the Bucks entered the past week in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-8 record.
Thankfully for Milwaukee, their injury problems seem to have stabilized (for now), and buoyed by the outstanding play of their two-time MVP, the Bucks reeled off an impressive four-game win streak to improve to 10-8 and move up to 7th place in the East.
Antetokounmpo had a ridiculous week (which was rewarded with his NBA Player of the Week nomination), pouring in 47 points in a win against the Los Angeles Lakers before recording a 21-point, 19-rebound effort against Oklahoma City. He then rewrote the history books again by becoming the first player with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists in less than 35 minutes since Willie Naulls in 1959 in a victory over the Orlando Magic.
No wonder Antetokounmpo is already generating early buzz for the MVP award, which would be the third of his young NBA career!
However, Giannis' comments in a recent interview with GQ sparked panic among the Bucks' faithful as the 2021 NBA champion discussed his future in the Cream City.
"One challenge was to bring a championship here and we did,” he said. “It was very hard, but we did. Very, very hard. I just love challenges. What’s the next challenge? The next challenge might not be here.” It’s not that he doesn’t love Milwaukee, he said. But he was always wary of things becoming too easy. “Me and my family chose to stay in this city that we all love and has taken care of us—for now,” Giannis said. “In two years, that might change. I’m being totally honest with you. I’m always honest. I love this city. I love this community. I want to help as much as possible."
Rudy Gobert | France | Utah Jazz (NBA)
16-22 November Stats
18.25 ppg, 13.75 rpg, 3.0 bpg, .791 FG%
Jazz 120-85 76ers | Jazz 119-103 Raptors | Kings 105-123 Jazz | Jazz 118-119 Grizzlies
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Rudy Gobert proved why he is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner following a week in which he moved into third place in the Jazz's all-time blocks leaderboard.
The 29-year-old tallied an impressive stat line of 15 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks in the Jazz's win over the Philadelphia 76ers on 16 November, and currently leads the league in rebounds per game (14.9) and field goal percentage (73.3); he's also currently no.4 in blocks with 2.0 per game.
Gobert's impact at both ends of the court (he scored 14 points on 7 for 7 shooting in a win over Toronto on 18 November) has helped the Jazz move into the top five in points per game (112.5), rebounds per game (47.4), three-pointers made (245) and field goal percentage (46.8) as Utah sit in third place in the West at 11-6.
Following Utah's blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Gobert spoke with Kristen Ledlow about Utah's plans for the postseason after being knocked out in the Conference semifinals in 2021.
"We know it's a long season; we know we're not going to win every game, but as the season goes on we're going to keep learning and keep getting better.
When the playoffs come, we'll be ready to make a better run than last year."
Élie-Franck Okobo | France | LDLC ASVEL
16-22 November Stats
21.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, .464 FG%
LDLC ASVEL 87-74 Real Madrid | LDLC ASVEL 60-80 FC Barcelona
LDLC ASVEL, who currently sit in fifth in LNB Pro A (France's top men's league), started off their 2021-22 EuroLeague campaign brightly, rattling off six wins in their first eight games. They've since hit a slump and are in the midst of a three-game losing streak following defeats to Real Madrid and Barcelona last week.
Élie Okobo has played inspired basketball throughout and currently leads the EuroLeague in points per game at 19.64, more than three points per game more than Daryl Macon of Panathinaikos in second.
Okobo, who won a bronze medal with France at the 2017 Under-20 European Championships, only joined ASVEL in July, but has already made his mark in EuroLeague play, recording 20-plus points in five games (including a 35 point explosion against Panathinaikos in Round 7).
Yet if ASVEL are to right the ship and end the streak, Okobo will have to get some scoring help from his teammates. They next face AS Monaco in the EuroLeague on 26 November.