Even though the Milwaukee Bucks have lost their first round series in the last two NBA Playoffs, ten years ago, very few fans could have imagined themselves in this situation. The 2013–14 Bucks had a dismal record of 15–67 at the end of the season. Giannis Antetokounmpo, then 19 years old, made his NBA debut that year after being selected by Milwaukee with the 15th overall pick in the draft.

Few people predicted that Giannis would go on to rank among the NBA’s best players after his impressive rookie season, in which he averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 24.6 minutes per game. Furthermore, he has previously been listed as one of the top 75 players in NBA history.At 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game last season, the Greek Freak enjoyed one of his best seasons ever. In addition, he made NBA history by being the first player to average at least 30 points per game while maintaining a true shooting percentage of 60%.Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks is ranked 42nd among athletes of the twenty-first century by ESPN.

ESPN began releasing its list of the twenty-first century’s top 100 professional athletes on Monday. Legendary players Aaron Rodgers and Charles Woodson of the Green Bay Packers were included in their inaugural chapter, which featured athletes ranked 76–100.

Numbers 26 to 50 were released today, Wednesday. Giannis was ranked forty-two.

Key achievements include the 2021 NBA champion, the 2021 Finals MVP, two MVPs, the 2019–20 Defensive Player of the Year, eight All-Star selections, the 2021 All-Star Game MVP, seven All-NBA selections, five All-Defense selections, and the 2016–17 Most Improved Player award.

“It was hard to foresee how the arrival of a skinny kid from Greece who had only played basketball for two years with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft would change the course of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next ten years.”

“After becoming into one of the most dominant power forwards in history at both ends of the court, Antetokounmpo went from being an unknown but potential prospect. His transformation culminated in a 50-point game in the 2021 NBA Finals, which helped the team win its first championship in 50 years. He won the hearts of Milwaukee supporters even more when he placed an order for fifty chicken nuggets the next day as a celebration. — Jamal Collier

Despite having played in the NBA for 11 years, Giannis is still only 30 years old. Put another way, as he continues to add achievements to his list, he ought to rank higher on this list in subsequent iterations.

The greatest player in Milwaukee Bucks history is Giannis Antetokounmpo.

At this point in his career, with many years left to go, Giannis is already Milwaukee’s career leader in the following categories:

Games played (792)Minutes played (25,945)Field goals (6,732)Free throws (4,510)Total rebounds (7,732)Assists (3,855)Points (18,502)Triple-Doubles (45)Blocks (986)

The best part, of course, is that Giannis has said (on multiple occasions) that he wants to play in Milwaukee for the entirety of his career. As long, that is, as the franchise is committed to winning.