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Milwaukee Bucks: Who Deserves the Most Improved Player Award?

By Lukas Harkins

Apr 3, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), forward Jabari Parker (12) and guard Tyler Ennis (11) during the game against the Chicago Bulls at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Chicago won 102-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), forward Jabari Parker (12) and guard Tyler Ennis (11) during the game against the Chicago Bulls at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Chicago won 102-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 6, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots over New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) during the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 6, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots over New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) during the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

The Case for Giannis Antetokounmpo

Just like Jabari, Giannis has seen a dramatic increase in play this season, although some might say this “elite” level of play began around the All-Star Break of last season. Nonetheless, here is a look at the improvement of Antetokounmpo.

Season Age Pos G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% eFG% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
2015-16 21 PG 80 35.3 6.4 12.7 .506 0.4 1.4 .257 .520 3.7 5.1 .724 7.7 4.3 1.2 1.4 2.6 3.2 16.9
2016-17 22 SG 36 34.6 8.4 15.8 .530 0.7 2.4 .295 .553 5.8 7.4 .780 8.8 5.6 1.9 2.0 2.9 3.3 23.3

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table

To be fair, Giannis is playing at a level that very few players in the NBA are capable above. That being said, true superstar players have won this award in the past, most notably Paul George and Kevin Love in recent memory.

For the Greek Freak, this has been a transcendent season, as he has pulled at the heartstrings of the NBA with his endearing off-court quotes as well as his dominate and unique play on the court. He has seen in increase in every major statistical category (except for minutes) this season, as shown in the above chart.

Along the same lines as Jabari, Giannis is starting to receive some much-deserved attention from the referees in terms of drawing shooting fouls. Last season’s rate was 2.2 shooting fouls drawn per game, while this season, there has been an inflation to 3.3 fouls drawn per game.

With this, he is now ranking 8th in the NBA in free throws attempted, ahead of players such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard.

Giannis is a clear-cut superstar in the NBA, and to be fair, this might be the thing that prevents him from winning the Most Improved Player Award.

As long as the Milwaukee Bucks keep winning games, it is not out of the question that they receive a top-4 seed in the Eastern Conference. And if the Bucks receive one of the top seeds, Giannis Antetokounmpo will likely join the likes of players such as James Harden or Russell Westbrook with a decent chance to win the MVP award.

With the Greek Freak potentially in the race for the MVP, he could easily be overlooked as Most Improved, even if it is an award he should be a frontrunner for.

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