Giannis reaches 20K points, still has 'more to give'

MILWAUKEE -- As Giannis Antetokounmpo considered his latest career milestone, becoming the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points during the Bucks' 137-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, he reflected on all he has gone through to arrive to this point.

"I always look back at myself, and I don't want to say I get emotional, but it's a good feeling," Antetokounmpo said after the game. "I'm proud of the journey, but I have so much more to give."

Antetokounmpo reached the milestone in the third quarter Wednesday night while putting up 32 points and 15 rebounds in 25 minutes in Milwaukee's blowout victory.

The team played a tribute video to Antetokounmpo on the video board after the milestone, although Antetokounmpo joked that coach Doc Rivers kept distracting him during the timeout so he could not watch it.

"He kept saying, 'Giannis, Giannis, focus on the play,'" Antetokounmpo said with a laugh. "Like, Coach, you [don't] get a lot of 20,000-points moments in your career."

Wednesday's victory was the Bucks' fourth straight and the eighth in their past nine games. They improved to a season-best 11 games over .500, a stark turnaround following their 2-8 start to the season.

Antetokounmpo said he was proud of the habits his team was starting to build, especially since the All-Star break. Damian Lillard scored 34 points, the 15th time both he and Antetokounmpo have scored at least 30 points in a game since becoming teammates, the third most by a duo in their first two seasons in NBA history, according to ESPN Research.

When Antetokounmpo got back to the bench after reaching the milestone, which Lillard achieved last December, Lillard had a simple message: Welcome to the club.

"It is a select group of guys that for a decade-plus have just been putting it together every year getting better, performing against the scouting report, just showing up night in and night out and doing it over a long, long period of time," Lillard said after the game. "We all know the names. Obviously, to get to 20,000 points is not just being a guy that has opportunity. You got to keep getting better. You got to go against the best defenders, you got to go against the scouting reports, you got to take care of yourself and be available."

Antetokounmpo is also the seventh player born outside the U.S. to score 20,000 points, according to ESPN Research. He said he thought about all he sacrificed in order to get to this point, including his humble beginnings in Greece before he turned himself into an NBA superstar.

"I hope a lot of people see me, and I represent the people that might not have it all," Antetokounmpo said. "Might not be the most talented people, but they are disciplined. They show up every single night to do the right thing, no matter the outcome. They keep on coming back and keep on being disciplined in their craft. So I hope I can represent all those people."

Antetokounmpo said the milestone meant a lot to him, and he also appreciated how difficult it was for the people ahead of him on the list.

"It is a lot. It's a lot of points," he said. "I can't imagine people that score 30,000 like KD. Or LeBron, score [50,000] points. You got to recognize, that's greatness."

But Antetokounmpo, who turned 30 in December, also made it known he is not done. When asked if he planned to reach 30,000, he responded, "One thousand percent."

"I'll get there," he said. "I don't know how I'll do it, but I'm going to show up every single day and I'm going to do it. It's not a goal of mine. I don't think it counts in your legacy if you score 25,000 or 27 or 30,000. Winning counts more.

"I'm 30 years old. I have so much to give. I'm changing my game. I'm becoming more efficient, more effective. I have so much to learn, and I am just going to try to focus on that. So hopefully I can have another video without being interrupted."