He gobbles up space like some gigantic Pac-Man with long, loping strides that eat metres of court space in a now-you-see-him, now-you-don’t blink of an eye.

He plays the game with an intuitive style of a wise old man, making you forget he’s a 22-year-old Athenian who started playing basketball about a decade ago.

He’s a forward. A guard. A centre.

Greek Freak, indeed.

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, with whom Raptors fans will become entirely familiar over the next couple of weeks, is one of those NBA players who defies description, a seven-foot Swiss Army knife, a gadget, a unicorn that every team would die for and only one has.

“He’s a freak of nature for an athlete,” was how Toronto coach Dwane Casey described Antetokounmpo ahead of Game 1 between the Raptors and Bucks in the NBA playoffs Saturday evening.

Antetokoumpo’s unique abilities and unique role with the Bucks will make him a vital piece of the coming best-of-seven series, the key player the Raptors will have to shut down.

He was the first player in league history to be in the top 20 in points (22.9 per game), rebounds (8.7), assists (5.4), blocked shots (1.9) and steals (1.6), and was the fifth player ever to lead his team in each of those statistical categories in the same season. Dave Cowens, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James were the others, although the NBA did not record blocked shots and steals as statistics until 1973.

“He reminds me so much of a young Magic Johnson as far as his length, his size, the way he can pass the ball. And Lord forbid he gets consistent on his jump shots,” Casey said. “He’s totally different than anything else in our league.”

It will be particularly galling to Toronto president Masai Ujiri to watch the son of Nigerian parents try to lead the Bucks past the Raptors. Ujiri tried desperately to trade into the 2013 NBA draft to get a chance to take Antetokounmpo, who eventually went 15th overall to Milwaukee.

Not only was Ujiri enamoured of the then-teenager’s skills and promise, the Raptors executive was closely tied to the youngster. Antetokounmpo’s parents had moved from Lagos, Nigeria, to Athens in 1991, and while Antetokounmpo and three of his four brothers were born in Greece, they did not automatically qualify for full Greek citizenship. Ujiri, one of the most fervent supporters of African basketball players there is, helped the process along through advice and connections, finally seeing Antetokounmpo get his Greek papers.

Now Ujiri has to hope Casey and his staff can find a way to slow Milwaukee’s best player. The Bucks are a solid if unspectacular team led by Antetokounmpo, who is used as a facilitator and scorer on offence and a multi-dimensional defender who can guard a handful of positions.

“He’s not a three-point shooter but he knows now how to take up the space to get where his sweet spot is,” Casey said. “My history with players like that is you get soft mentally. You get soft thinking you don’t have to take up that slack and then all of a sudden he has a head of steam coming at you. So he has learned how to play that game too.”