It's not often that Giannis Antetokounmpo gets matched up against a center with the size, strength, and agility to go toe-to-toe with him as the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid. The Milwaukee Bucks forward got switched into the Sixers' defensive anchor several times during the Thursday night battle between the two Eastern Conference powerhouses and Antetokounmpo not only held his own, but he did so in dominating fashion.
The Greek Freak on a couple of possessions plowed through the bigger Embiid like he casually does with his defenders and also made the 7-footer the feather on the cap of his highlight clip by rejecting the Cameroonian's dunk attempt and knocking him down the floor. After the Bucks dispatched the Sixers, Antetokounmpo felt his portfolio against the best defenders the league has to offer is complete and made his case known to The Athletic that he is simply unstoppable.
Giannis is a matchup problem 😤 pic.twitter.com/f2qTvHiLpQ
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 5, 2019
Antetokounmpo is the heavy favorite to win the 2018-19 Most Valuable Player award by virtue of his stellar play (career highs of 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, on 57.7 shooting) including a surprising amount of three-point field goals converted with 50 (long perceived to be his weakness), on top of the Bucks' league-leading 59 victories. Although the Houston Rockets' James Harden continues to be discussed as a strong contender to repeat, this is likely just media spin in the same vein as Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young is apparently a Rookie of the Year dark horse despite making his mark only this past month.
At any rate, Antetokounmpo's claim of being the riddle no one has solved yet holds true and probably will remain as one as the 24-year-old continues to round out his already potent arsenal.
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