Giannis Antetokounmpo has taken a big step this season for the Milwaukee Bucks, as he is one of the East’s All-Star starters. He’s proven to be a truly transcendent NBA talent.
He is called the “Greek Freak” for a reason; in two steps, he can be anywhere on the court. Antetokounmpo is having a career year in all statistical categories, and he may just lead the Bucks back to relevance sooner than we all expected.
As a 6-11 point-forward, he could become only the fourth player in the history of the league to lead his squad in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals on a playoff team, according to Mitch Lawrence of Forbes.
This guy is not even close to his prime as an NBA player. He’s 22-years-old, and has barely gotten out of diapers in his fourth season. People began to take notice in the 2014-2015 season, as he became a household name with his high-flying dunks and chase-down blocks that were reminiscent of a similarly amazing athlete in LeBron James.
Last season you began to see this guy be more of a perimeter contributor, and he responded with his then career-best 4.3 assists per game. Having one of the better point guards in league history in Jason Kidd as his head coach has drastically aided the Greek Freak in his development in the halfcourt offense. When Michael Carter-Williams went down, the Bucks offense began to thrive when they moved Antetokounmpo to the point full-time.
He has great vision with the ball in his hands, and that allows his teammates to get great opportunities for open looks. His playmaking was really on display last season with his passing and ability to see the floor with that 6-11 height. For an added dimension, he’s averaging a career-best 5.6 helpers in this year’s campaign.
As seen in this video from BBALLBREAKDOWN, it’s pretty tough to account for a player who can be both a rim protector, and in the same sequence, lead the break going the other way finishing at full-speed. All things considered, this guy is not flying under the radar anymore with his incredible skill set.
Last but not least, Antetokounmpo has really put it all together this year. Let’s just examine the key statistics for a minute. This guy is putting a young team on his Buck (hehe); the dude is at the top in all relevant win shares categories.
According to Basketball Reference, he’s in the top ten of the whole NBA in overall win shares, offensive and defensive win shares, and win shares per 48 minutes. He is also fourth in the league in defensive box plus/minus with a value of 4.0.
His length and athleticism on the defensive end of the floor is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Antetokounmpo’s game. He can guard any position on the court with that 7’3 wingspan, as evidenced by him being fourth in the NBA in blocks per game (2.1). He’s sixth in the Association in block percentage, too, at 5.3 percent.
The Buck doesn’t stop with rim protection, though, because he is the model defender in today’s perimeter-based league, as he can switch out on the pick-and-roll and smother most guards with that length. For a 6-11 dude to be sixth in the league in steals (1.8), that’s unbelievable. Maybe he’ll even protect the rim in the All-Star Game (or maybe not).
To make a long story short, this guy is going to be a regular as an Eastern Conference All-Star starter. He has some Magic Johnson and LBJ-type traits you can’t teach with that ballhandling and court vision, and if he gets a consistent jump shot, he’ll be unguardable.
He has started to improve that J this season, as he’s shooting a career-high in field goal percentage at 53.8 percent. With his height, every shot is pretty much uncontested. This will eventually open up his drive even more, along with getting some more help.
If they get some more shooting around the Greek Freak, you can book the dude as a perennial mainstay on that East frontline for years to come. He’s got the ability, the charisma and the name to be an incredible story in this league for a long time. We’ll see how the bright lights treat him in the ASG and potentially the playoffs in a few months.
It pains me as a Cleveland Cavaliers fan to think of what this Bucks team can be with this dude and the skill set of Jabari Parker next to him going forward. Regardless, he’s always going to be fun to watch.
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