The Milwaukee Bucks were an impressive 3-1 when they met the Timberwolves in their home game. But right from the beginning, they took the backseat and allowed the Wolves to howl. Apart from Giannis Antetokounmpo, no other Buck could do anything worth mentioning in the first three quarters.

The Greek Freak kept the Bucks in the game as their lone fighter. And while doing this, he pulled out the Kobe Bryant sitting inside him and completed a stunner that took even the commentators by surprise.

Giannis Antetokounmpo managing a Kobe Bryant trademark

With under three minutes left in Q2, the Bucks were trailing by 10 points when Giannis Antetokounmpo made a crazy play. He went past forward Jarred Vanderbilt to then beat the trio of D’Angelo Russell, Jaden McDaniels, and Anthony Edwards to complete a massive dunk. This meant him beating four of the Wolves’ starters to pull an iconic shot.

The Freak went off the backboard and completed a flying alley-oop. This looked like the carbon-copy of the many Kobe Bryant sequences in the past days. Take a close look – 

By Q3 alone, Giannis had a 31-point double-double to his name along with two massive blocks. But apart from him, it was only Khris Middleton in the double figures as the Bucks got bulldozed by the Wolves.

Read more: Is Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday’s Newfound Proximity Bothering Giannis Antetokounmpo?

How good was the Black Mamba with these shots?

Kobe Bryant had a lot of weapons in his artillery of shots. However, the self-alley-oop certainly made the cut as one of the most anticipated choices. He used this particular shot to cut through the traffic and beat larger defenders near the glass. 

One of the most notable of these shots came against Rockets legend Yao Ming. During the WC Semis in 2009 (when the Lakers became champions), Kobe did this over the 7’6” Chinese star. Yao could not do anything apart from standing there and watching as the Mamba made his move. 

Looks like Giannis took inspiration from this and waited for the right moment to try it. Well, it worked for him individually but his team still faced a loss.

Watch this story: Times When Giannis Antetokounmpo Reminded That He’s a Greek Freak