Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Last season’s NBA Most Valuable Player is putting together a very compelling back-to-back MVP case.
Everybody thought the “Greek Freak” was almost unstoppable last season on his way to being judged the best player in the league but somehow, he is going to greater heights this season.
After averaging 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game last season, Giannis stat-lines has improved to 31 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists this season whilst posting a double-double in 20 of the Bucks first 22 games. He sits second in the league for points per game behind James Harden and fourth in the league for rebounds per game showing his unbelievable will to impose himself on each contest.
The most impressive part of Giannis’ development this season has been his commitment to improving his jump shot, more importantly, his consistency from 3-point range.
He averages five attempts from 3-point range so far this season, his next highest average coming in the 2018-19 season where he averaged only 2.8 attempts per game. Most importantly for Antetokounmpo, he is converting on around 32 percent of these attempts which is respectable for a ma trying to work on this aspect of his game. In fact, he has already hit 35 3-point attempts in total this season and his career-high in a single season is only 52 3-point makes, showing his improvements in gaining a more respectable long-range shot.
The Greek Freak is hitting over 60 percent of his shots from inside the 3-point line, once again proving almost unstoppable when he drives to the rim and continuing to be a great finisher around the rack. He is doing all this whilst averaging the lowest minutes per game since he became a permanent starter in the Milwaukee lineup.
This has all added up to the Bucks sitting equal first across the entire league with a 19-3 record, also sitting three games clear on top of the Eastern Conference. This has included an ultra-impressive 13-game win streak that the Bucks are on, led by Giannis’ inspiring play.
But like Doncic, possibly the most impressive part of Antetokounmpo’s 2019-20 season resume is that he does not have a consistent or superstar No. 2 man by his side.
Khris Middleton is the man the Bucks expect to be their second scoring option behind Giannis, but he missed seven games this season already with a left thigh contusion. Other players such as Eric Bledsoe, Wesley Matthews, Brook Lopez, and George Hill have all proven to be consistent and reliable scoring options, but Giannis is by far the main option that the Bucks expect to carry the starting unit.
Giannis still maintains the highest Player Efficiency Rating of any player in the NBA despite having to carry the team on his back and provide amazing output on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
Despite these factors, Giannis is proving again to be one of the top two Most Valuable Players in the NBA in my opinion and is the main reason why Milwaukee is the Eastern Conference favorites.