2021 NBA Finals

Key stats, facts to know from Bucks' championship run

The Bucks piled up several stats feats as they collected their first NBA title since 1971.

The Milwaukee Bucks climb from a halftime deficit to defeat the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 for the 2021 NBA title.

Three weeks ago, a knee injury left Giannis Antetokounmpo looking 50/50 to return for the rest of the Bucks’ playoff run.

Look at him now.

“The Greek Freak” delivered perhaps the best performance of his career at the best possible moment, and can now add an NBA Finals MVP award to his two regular-season Kia MVP trophies. Antetokounmpo scored 50 points in a series-clinching 105-98 Game 6 victory that ended the Bucks’ 50-year title drought.

In the course of doing so he amassed all manner of statistical feats in both his Game 6 barrage and his Finals showing overall. Here are some key stats to know from Antetokounmpo’s foray in the 2021 NBA Finals as well as what the Bucks pulled off in the series, too.


Some Finals MVP factoids

Antetokounmpo became Finals MVP, making him one of lowest players drafted to take home the honors.

Lowest drafted players to be named Finals MVP
Finals Player Drafted
1983 Moses Malone Not drafted (began career in ABA)
1979 Dennis Johnson 29th
2007 Tony Parker 28th
1989 Joe Dumars 18th
2021 Giannis Antetokounmpo 15th
2014 & 2019 Kawhi Leonard 15th

Additionally, he is one of four international players to collect Finals MVP honors.

International players to be named Finals MVP
Player Finals
Giannis Antetokoumpo 2021
Dirk Nowitzki 2011
Tony Parker 2007
Hakeem Olajuwon 1994, ’95

Doing the heavy lifting

Giannis Antetokounmpo finishes with 50 points and 14 rebounds in the Game 6 series-clincher.

Antetokounmpo dropped 50 points in the Game 6 clincher, becoming the second player in NBA history to do so. The last one was Bob Pettit in 1958, when he had 50 points for the then-St. Louis (now Atlanta) Hawks in Game 6 against the Boston Celtics.

Overall, Antetokounmpo averaged 35.2 ppg, 13.2 rpg and 5.0 apg in The Finals. The last player to average 35 or more points, 10 or more rebounds and five or more assists in The Finals? LeBron James, when he posted 35.8 ppg, 13.3 rpg and 8.8 apg in the 2015 Finals for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they lost 4-2 to the Golden State Warriors.

Per Elias Sports Bureau, Antetokounmpo scored 47.6% of his teams points in Game 6. That was one of the largest percentages in a single game in Finals history.

Largest percentage of team points scored in a Finals game
Date Player (Team) Percent of team points scored Opponent Points out of total points
April 8, 1950 George Mikan (Lakers) 54.4% at Nationals 37 of 68 total points
June 14, 1998 Michael Jordan (Bulls) 51.7% at Jazz 45 of 87 total points
June 16, 1993 Michael Jordan (Bulls) 49.5% vs. Suns 55 of 111 total points
April 14, 1962 Elgin Baylor (Lakers) 48.4% vs. Celtics 42 of 88 total points
July 20, 2021 Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) 47.6% vs. Suns 50 of 105 total points
April 11, 1954 George Mikan (Lakers) 47.6% vs. Nationals 30 of 63 total points

Down 0-2? No worries here

All of Milwaukee’s title hopes may have seemed lost after Game 2 of The Finals. After all, the Bucks were in an 0-2 hole and had lost both games by 10 or more points. However, Milwaukee flipped the script on that aspect of The Finals and joined four other teams that did likewise in NBA history.

Year Team Opponent Series result
2021 Bucks Suns Bucks won, 4-2
2016 Cavs Warriors Cavs won, 4-3
2006 Heat Mavs Heat won, 4-2
1977 Trail Blazers 76ers Blazers won, 4-2
1969 Celtics Lakers Celtics won, 4-3

More stats tidbits from Bucks’ run

Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo all chipped in heavily to Milwaukee’s title run.

Not only was Antetokounmpo outstanding for the Bucks in The Finals, but he delivered all playoffs long. In terms of total stats, he rang up 634 points, 269 rebounds and 108 assists in the 2021 playoffs. That made him the third player with 600+ points, 250+ rebounds and 100+ assists in a single postseason, joining Charles Barkley in 1993 (638 points, 326 rebounds, 102 assists) and Larry Bird in 1984 (632 points, 252 rebounds, 136 assists).

Some other stats tidbits to know about Antetokounmpo’s playoff and Finals run:

• He shot 61.8% in The Finals while averaging 30+ points, 10+ rebounds and 5+ assists, becoming the first player to do that while also shooting 60% or better in the championship series.

• Antetokounmpo (35.2 ppg, 61.8% on FGs) joins Shaquille O’Neal (38.0 ppg, 61.1% FG in the 2000 Finals) as the only players in NBA history to record 30+ ppg on 60%+ shooting in a Finals series.

• Since the beginning of the shot clock era (1954-55), Antetokounmpo (30.2 PPG, 56.9% FG) is the sixth player to average 30+ PPG on 55%+ FG in a single playoff run (min. 10 games). The others on that list:

Player Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1970, ’74, ’77, ’80
Shaquille O’Neal 1998, 2000, ’01
Bernard King 1984
LeBron James 2017
Kawhi Leonard 2021

Giannis Antetokounmpo (35.2 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 5.0 apg), Khris Middleton (24.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 5.3 apg) and Jrue Holiday (16.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 9.3 apg) are the first trio of teammates in NBA history to each average 15+ ppg, 5+ rpg and 5+ apg in a Finals series.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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