In the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 114-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, star power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo posted perhaps the most bizarre double-double of his nine-year NBA career.
Despite finishing seventh on the Bucks in scoring, posting only seven points, Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 18 rebounds while dishing out a team-high 10 assists.
According to ESPN, it’s the first time in Antetokounmpo’s nine-year career that he recorded a double-double while scoring less than 10 points.
While Antetokounmpo was dominant on the boards and showed off his ability to distribute the basketball, he had a brutal night shooting. Antetokounmpo finished 3-for-10 from the field and didn’t attempt a three despite averaging at least two a game this season.
In what’s either a troubling new trend for Giannis or an anomaly, as Micah Adams of The Sporting News points out, Antetokounmpo has scored fewer than 10 points for the second time in three games. Antetokounmpo had only nine points in a blowout loss to the Charlotte Hornets last week.
Some may speculate that Antetokounmpo is injured. After all, he missed the Bucks’ New Year’s Day contest with the Washington Wizards with left knee soreness. However, after missing only one game, Antetokounmpo returned two nights later and dropped a career-high 55 points in a 123-113 win over the same Wizards.
Despite his recent ups and downs, Antetokounmpo is in the midst of another standout campaign. Antetokounmpo averaged 31.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists heading into Wednesday night’s action.
Per Oddschecker, Antetokounmpo has the third-best odds (+375) to win NBA MVP honors, behind only two-time MVP, Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (+300), and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic (+290).
