Giannis Antetokoumpo is something we have never seen in the NBA. At 6-foot-11, he will be the tallest point guard in the history of the league
Three years ago, Giannis Antetokoumpo came into the league as a 6-foot-9 small forward with an above-average handle. Today, he is the Milwaukee Bucks’ primary ball-handler and has actually grown two inches, to 6-foot-11.
Antetokoumpo’s game is an extremely rare one, as he is arguably the best handling 6-foot-11 and up player that we have EVER seen in the NBA.
He is quick, rebounds well, and is a great defender as well because of his size and ridiculous 7-foot-3 wingspan that allows him to stay in front of most players with ease. Oh, yea, and he’s only 21 years old and is still growing, as I mentioned before.
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Antetokoumpo is best described by the word that Kevin Durant called rookie Kristaps Porzingis in an interview last season: a unicorn.
There is no accurate comparison to Antetokoumpo from NBA history because there really is no one else like him. Earvin “Magic” Johnson is the only other point guard to be 6-foot-9 or taller in NBA history. Today’s tallest point guard other than Antetokoumpo is Shaun Livingston, who is listed at just 6-foot-6.
The height mismatch alone is a ridiculous advantage in favor of the Bucks next season.
Antetokoumpo was given the reins to the Bucks’ offense by head coach Jason Kidd, who told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (according to ESPN):
"“We’re going to go forward with him handling the ball. You can call him point guard, point forward, point center, however you want to look at it. With him having the ball and the pressure he puts on the defense and his ability to find guys, has been a plus for us.”"
“With him having the ball and the pressure he puts on the defense and his ability to find guys, has been a plus for us.” -Jason Kidd
Kidd went on to describe his role with their other key, young stud Jabari Parker:
"“He has a skill set that he can guard smalls and bigs. Being able to guard the 4s or the wing players is something he can do.“For Jabari (Parker) and him, the more they play together, the more we can get answers of what they both can do on the floor, both defensively and offensively. We’ve got a lot of answers to some different questions.”"
Kidd, who happens to be one of the best point guards in NBA history, seems to be a fan of Antetokoumpo and has enough confidence in him to publicly name him the primary point guard for this season at the end of last season. If he thinks Giannis can do it, who are we to disagree?
The part of the game where Giannis lacks is shooting the ball. His shot doesn’t look very fluid and it has led him to shoot just 28 percent from three-point range in his NBA career. If you remember, before the latter stages of Kidd’s career, he wasn’t a very good shooter either.
In fact, From ’94-’06, the first 12 years of Kidd’s career, he failed to shoot over 38 percent from the three-point line every single season (per basketball-reference.com). It was only when he went to Dallas that he finally started making threes at a consistent rate.
If he can grab a hold of Antetokoumpo early and help get his shot fixed, he could become one of the most lethal offensive weapons in the NBA. Kevin Durant-like, even. He has a game very similar to Durant’s, with his gangly long arms, size and driving ability. Add a shot and he may be the closest thing to Durant in the league, ever.
At just 21, his potential is about just as high as anybody in the NBA right now (including: Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, others). Seeing that Jason Kidd had the confidence to publicly name him the primary ball-handler for this up-and-coming team means a lot and I expect him to soon start making an impact in the Eastern Conference Playoffs in the coming seasons.
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At the point guard spot, I see him easily averaging nearly a triple-double -15 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds isn’t too hard to see as an average.
Giannis Antetokoumpo is a player to watch out for this upcoming season as a “Most Improved” candidate. He could be one of the better players in the NBA in the near future.