Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is the only player since the 1966-67 NBA season to make the All-NBA team.
Deciding the NBA’s GOAT is a constant, fluctuating conversation, but historical records don’t lie. In that regard, seeing that Giannis Antetokounmpo just did something that no NBA player has done in 55 years makes him the greatest All-NBA player of several generations.
Back in March, NBA on ESPN indicated that if Giannis was a unanimous All-NBA First-Team selection this year, it would mark the fourth consecutive year he’s achieved this honor.
The only other players that have achieved it three consecutive times since the 1960s are Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and James Harden.
If Giannis is a unanimous All-NBA First Team selection this season, he would be the first to do it FOUR years in a row since at least 1966-67.
The only others to have done it three years straight are Michael Jordan, LeBron James and James Harden ????
(h/t Rh1No/Reddit) pic.twitter.com/LfAyebQKLw
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 5, 2022
And with the NBA All-Team results being released this week, Giannis joins the All-NBA First-Team again, enshrining him in basketball history.
Giannis Antetokounmpo made history with 4th straight unanimous All-NBA nod
Although Antetokounmpo is already being mixed into the GOAT conversation at just 27 years old, his four-time consecutive All-NBA First-Team record doesn’t come close to the player he’d have to beat: legendary Milwaukee Bucks point guard Oscar Robertson.
Robertson, who was known as “the Big O”, was a 12-time NBA All-Star, won NBA MVP in the 1963-64 season, and made the All-NBA team 11 times during his 14-year career. However, Robertson made the All-NBA First-Team for nine straight seasons from 1961-1969. It was Robertson who brought the Bucks their first NBA title in 1970-71. The second, of course, was brought home by Antetokounmpo in the 2020-21 season.
It’s only fitting that Giannis joins the company of a Bucks player who established the franchise and revolutionized the league for NBA players. Oscar Robertson also represented the players association and helped NBA players attain higher salaries and more equitable free agency situations.
In addition to being one of the greatest basketball players of all time, both Robertson and Antetokounmpo have unanimously dominated in their respective eras, with each bringing an NBA Championship to Milwaukee. It’s only fitting that Giannis would come for Robertson’s record—but he still has quite a way to go.
