Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes 52nd NBA player to reach 20K career points

Giannis Antetokounmpo has reached 20,000 career points, making him the 52nd player in NBA history to do so.

The Milwaukee Bucks star crossed the threshold with his trademark strength and speed in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks, driving through the paint for a lay-up.

The most recent player to reach 20K points was Antetokounmpo’s teammate Damian Lillard, who did so last season. The number of NBA players in that club is 52, though it expands to 56 if you count ABA stats.

The Bucks had a tribute video for Antetokounmpo, who has been there since he was 19 years old in the 2013-14 season, ready to go.

The milestone came a day after LeBron James crossed the much-anticipated threshold of 50,000 points, though that mark included playoff scoring. Going by regular season only, which is how this stuff usually works, James is at a record 41,187, which is still wild to think about. Antetokounmpo has been for 12 seasons, won his first MVP six years ago, has only increased his scoring since then, and isn’t even halfway to James.

Of course, most careers pale when compared to James. Antetokounmpo is still on a Hall of Fame track in his career and is the pretty easy answer for the best player in Bucks history, leading the team all-time in games, minutes, field goals, rebounds, assists, blocks, triple-doubles, field-goal percentage and, of course, points.

Now, the two-time MVP, former Defensive Player of the Year and eight-time All-Star has another entry on his resume.