Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the NBA’s most distinctive players, and the feat he is now on track to accomplish would highlight just how remarkable he is. Antetokounmpo averaged 30.8 points per game through the 2024 NBA All-Star break, shooting 61.6% from the field. Those figures occurred throughout 54 games played, and if the Milwaukee Bucks star can finish the regular season with more than 30 points per game while shooting 60% or better, he will become the first player in NBA history to accomplish so.
Milwaukee’s hero, known as ‘The Greek Freak,’ met one of the two conditions for an NBA achievement last season by averaging 31.1 points per game. He finished the season just shy of the needed shooting percentage, but still had a superb mark of 55.3%. Few other players have come close to accomplishing this accomplishment, with former Utah Jazz forward Adrian Dantley having the highest shooting % of any player who averaged 30 or more points per game. Dantley averaged 30.7 points on 58% shooting in 1982-83, just one season after scoring 30.3 points and shooting 57% from the field in 1981-82.
Another notable person who came close was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played for the Bucks. Abdul-Jabbar, like Dantley, had two seasons where he nearly missed the mark. In 1970-71, he averaged 31.7 points on 57.7% shooting and 34.8 points in 1971-72, making 57.4% of his field goal tries.
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