Giannis Antetokounmpo, an almost unstoppable rim-attacking scorer.
A superstar rookie who had made even a top-tier league forward like Paul George utterly helpless.
Yet now, he sat on the cold hardwood, his heart filled with fear.
The oppressive feeling he had experienced while battling Link was something Antetokounmpo had never felt before.
Even now, he still could not believe that Link had blocked him twice in a row at the rim!
This season, Antetokounmpo had been virtually unstoppable on offense. Even against Drummond, he had never been truly contained.
In that game, the Pistons had simply deployed a packed-in defense, with everyone guarding the paint desperately, and only then managed to hold the Greek Freak under 20 points.
Of course, the result was that the Bucks' perimeter shooters got completely open, Antetokounmpo's assist total soared, and he nearly put up a triple-double. In the end, that stopgap measure still failed to save the Pistons from defeat.
But today, Link had truly forced Antetokounmpo to stop through his own strength.
No help defense, no double-teams—Link had used the purest possible one-on-one approach to make the Greek Freak utterly helpless.
The second quarter had only just begun, yet Antetokounmpo had already been blocked by Link three times!
That terrifying leaping ability, unmatched strength, and machine-like precision in his judgment had all made Antetokounmpo suffer greatly.
Being swatted to the floor along with the ball by an opponent was a humiliation Antetokounmpo had never suffered before.
Antetokounmpo shook his head and slowly climbed up from the floor.
By then, the Grizzlies had already pushed the ball upcourt, leaving the Bucks temporarily stuck in a four-on-five disadvantage.
But the Greek Freak did not hustle back on defense as actively as he had at the start, because he knew that even if he got back,