With a 14-15 record, the Toronto Raptors are still a couple of games behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings, even if the Bucks have lost five straight. Milwaukee still sits at third place in the East with a 16-13 record, while the Raptors are in the sixth spot.

But if recent history is any indication, then the Raptors have had Milwaukee’s number for the past few years now, even as they rose as a contender with the emergence of Giannis Antetokounmpo as an MVP. That trend continued on Thursday, with the Raptors coming away with a 110-96 victory over Bucks on the road. Antetokounmpo still led Milwaukee with 23 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and two steals in 37 minutes of action, but he made just eight of 20 shots, had five turnovers, and fouled out late in the game.

The reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, in particular, struggled when guarded by Raptors forward OG Anunoby, who held him scoreless in the limited time that he defended him, according to Aaron Rose of Sports Illustrated.

The Raptors are clearly not the same team that they were when they won the franchise’s first NBA title two years ago. But one thing that they’ve managed to continue is their success against Milwaukee and one of the best players in the game. Toronto was also victorious in the teams’ previous meeting last Tuesday, 124-113, despite Antetokounmpo’s 34-point, 10-rebound effort, thanks to Fred VanVleet’s 33 points.

In fact, Toronto’s mastery over Giannis and the Bucks goes back several years from the time the five-time All-Star joined the league. Since being drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, The Greek Freak has won just 11 of the 34 games that he’s played against the Raptors, per Land of Basketball, with Toronto winning 23 of their battles in the regular season and playoffs. Those postseason battles included a first-round meeting in the 2017 Playoffs, which the Raptors won in six games, and a clash in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals, which Toronto also won in six games en route to the championship.

The loss to the Raptors in the Conference Finals was particularly heartbreaking, with the Bucks coming off a 60-win season and Antetokounmpo winning the first of his two MVP trophies. But after taking an early 2-0 lead in the series, the Raptors, led by Kawhi Leonard, bounced back and took the next four games to deny Giannis a chance to win his first title.

Before their consecutive losses this week, Milwaukee has actually had recent success against the Raptors, winning the regular season series last season and even taking their first meeting this season last January 27, 115-108. But the back-to-back losses were a reminder of how the team has seemingly had the MVP’s number despite a revamped lineup and his rise as one of the league’s best players.

Throughout the years, every great superstar in the league has had to overcome challenges before they could rise to the top and become champions, and he may have to go through something similar in his quest for greatness. Two years ago, it was the Raptors that ended Antetokounmpo’s dreams of winning a title, and last year, it was the Miami Heat that pulled off a stunning upset of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

It remains to be seen whether the teams will meet again this season. With both the Bucks and Raptors in the thick of the playoff race in the East, another playoff meeting could be on the horizon. In fact, if the postseason started today, the teams would be locked in a first-round series, with Antetokounmpo having a chance to avenge his two playoff losses in the past against Toronto.

Reaching the Finals also means slaying old foes and for the reigning MVP to have a deep playoff run this season, he may have to go through a Raptors team that has tormented him in recent years in the regular season and playoffs.