The Golden State Warriors were on a five-game losing streak, the team’s record sits at the bottom of the Western Conference, and on top of that; D’Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry are all injured. However, when the Milwaukee Bucks rolled into San Francisco for the first time this season, there was excitement in the air.
Golden State battled the Bucks from wire-to-wire, but without Russell, they couldn’t complete the upset against the Eastern Conference-leaders. The Warriors dropped their sixth straight game, but regardless of wins and losses, all eyes were on No. 34 in green.
Giannis Antetokounmpo made his Chase Center debut against the Warriors and proved why he’s one of the NBA’s marquee players. Antetokounmpo tallied a double-double for 30 points and 12 rebounds against Golden State. While 30-points is a significant number in the box score, yet Antetokounmpo’s night felt quiet, ending the night shooting 10-of-21 from the field, but just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.
The best from @Giannis_An34:
30 PTS | 13 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL pic.twitter.com/1TXo5cUoOD
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 9, 2020
To Steve Kerr, Antetokounmpo’s impact when it feels like he’s not having a good game is another reason why he’s the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. Kerr spoke to reporters after the Warriors’ loss about the 2019 MVP award winner.
That’s how good he is, I mean it didn’t feel like he had a very good game and he had 30 points and 12 rebounds — that’s why he’s the MVP — guys like that even when they don’t shoot the ball well they have a huge impact on the game — we tried to make him work, and we tried to put a bunch of bodies in front of him.
Prior to coaching players like Kevin Durant and Curry, Kerr played alongside Michael Jordan, making it safe to say he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to MVP caliber talent.