Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week (Feb. 28th – Mar. 5th)
Milwaukee Bucks Player of the Week Rankings
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
2. Khris Middleton
3. Jabari Parker
The Greek Freak played in all three games this week and averaged 39.6 minutes, 22.3 points (on 50.0 percent shooting), 10.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. He led the Bucks in rebounds, assists, and blocks while placing second in steals and third in points. Additionally, he led the team in plus/minus at +9.3.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was really damn good this week. Because of that it is hard to figure out where to start when talking about his performance. I guess it makes sense to start with his most significant accomplishment, his second career triple-double.
In the first game of the week against the Rockets, Giannis had a beautiful stat line: 18 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.
In fact, Antetokounmpo was inches away from recording a second triple-double this week. In the final game against the Timberwolves, he had 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists. He was so close to getting the 10th rebound at the end of the fourth quarter but the ball was tipped away from him and secured by a Wolves player. He was visibly upset when he didn’t get it but it was a valiant effort.
Giannis averaged a point-rebound double-double this week but his assist, steal, and block numbers were even more impressive. Antetokounmpo and Draymond Green were the only players in the NBA to have a minimum of seven assists, one steal, and one block per game over the last three games.
Giannis more than doubled Draymond’s scoring output over that time, 22.3 points per game to 10.3 points per game respectively.
The advanced stats liked the Greek Freak this week too. He had the highest net rating, 12.0, on the Bucks. That net rating was a result of the second highest offensive rating, 117.1, and the fifth lowest defensive rating, 105.1, on the team.
Giannis was the point guard this week. He averaged 8.7 assists per game and had the second highest assist to turnover ratio on the squad at 2.36. A couple of the Jabari highlights I showed on his player of the week page illustrated some of Giannis’ passing ability and point guard skills.
If you needed another example, here is a perfectly thrown lob out of a pick and roll.
No Buck got to the free throw line more than Giannis did this week. He averaged just under 10 free throw attempts per game and connected on 72.4 percent of them. When the opposition didn’t foul Giannis and let him do what he wanted things like this happened.
Besides being the Bucks point guard and best rebounder he also was the team’s best defender. Only three NBA players averaged at least 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in their last three games: Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Greek Freak is a disrupter on the defensive end. He is a nightmare for whoever is trying to score on him. His length makes him formidable when defending the rim or playing passing lanes.
The evolution of Antetokounmpo since the All Star break has been astounding. He is 33rd in points per game (19.1), 17th in free throw attempts per game (6.5), 12th in rebounds per game (10.8), tied for 10th in assists per game (7.3), tied for 25th in steals per game (1.6), and tied for 6th in blocks per game (1.9) in the entire NBA. The future is now for Giannis.
This week, Giannis was a point guard who piled up stats like a center. He was the Bucks best free throw creator, passer, rebounder, and defender. He delivered a triple-double and was an inch away from delivering another one. All of those things combined are the reasons why Antetokounmpo was the Milwaukee Bucks player of the week.
Next: Week 19