Madison Square Garden is a good land for Giannis Antetokounmpo, a place that witnessed memorable moments in his career. And he will return to this field again this Christmas.
Let’s join Sporting News in taking a look at the unforgettable moments in the Greek Demi-God’s career while playing at Madison Square Garden, the most famous arena in the world and the NBA.
Debut match: October 31, 2013
Antetokounmpo’s NBA debut took place at Madison Square Garden, when the Milwaukee Bucks were guests of the New York Knicks. Even though he only played less than five minutes under the bright lights at MSG, and only had 1 point from a free throw, it was still a memorable moment for him.
Since then, Antetokounmpo has scored more than 17,000 points in his career.
Record game-winner: January 5, 2017
The 2016/17 season was the beginning of Antetokounmpo’s peak period. He won the title of Most Improved Player of the Year after becoming an All-Star.
And Antetokounmpo’s most memorable moment that season was the winning game at Madison Square Garden. The Bucks trailed by one point with 8.6 seconds left. The Greek star had an accurate stepback throw, helping the comeback team win at the last second.
Memorable dunk: February 7, 2018
Antetokounmpo is a player with superior dunk technique. And when it comes to his memorable dunks, many people will think of the situation that took place at Madison Square Garden in 2018. That was an alley oop dunk with tremendous rebound, he even jumped over Tim Hardaway’s head. Jr., who is 1m96 tall.
Antetokounmpo finished the game with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.
First Christmas match: December 26, 2018
Only stars are allowed to play on Christmas, so being able to play that day is a recognition for the players. And Antetokounmpo’s first game on Christmas, coincidentally took place at Madson Square Garden. The Greek Demi-God recorded 30 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks and became the MVP of that match.
Triple-double: December 22, 2019
Months after winning his first MVP award, Antetokounmpo returned to Madison Square Garden with a different temperament. In the Bucks’ convincing 21-point win, Antetokounmpo had his first Triple-double with 22 points (8-of-10 shooting), 11 rebounds and 10 assists. And he only needed 26 minutes of playing time to do that.
Destructive performance: December 1, 2022
Antetokounmpo had one of the best games of his career against the New York Knicks in the 2022/23 season. In 37 minutes of play, Antetokounmpo finished with 37 points (13-of-25 shooting), along with 13 rebounds and 7 assists.