During the 2016-17 campaign, Giannis Antetokounmpo became a superstar for the Milwaukee Bucks. How great was the young do-it-all Buck?
Giannis Antetokounpo continues to improve with every single season he has been in the league. After very steady statistical increases over his first three years in the league, year four was something else.
The man known as the Greek Freak was able to take the most difficult step in an NBA player’s development, and make the jump to superstardom.
After the year he had, it is expected for Antetokounmpo to receive plenty of votes for the league’s Most Improved Player Award, and he might just win it. Giannis is the star of the Bucks and he is the engine that makes them run.
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With the way Giannis played during the regular season and the playoffs, it’s fair to now call him a top-10 player in the entire NBA. It’s scary to think that he is still just 22-years-old with further potential remaining to give him the chance of becoming the best player in the league.
This season, Giannis became the first Milwaukee Bucks player to be named an All-Star since 2004 (Michael Redd) and the first All-Star starter since 1986 (Sidney Moncrief).
Let’s take a look at how The Alphabet has progressed since his rookie year until now:
| Season | Age | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 19 | 77 | 24.6 | .414 | .347 | .463 | .683 | 4.4 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 6.8 |
| 2014-15 | 20 | 81 | 31.4 | .491 | .159 | .496 | .741 | 6.7 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 12.7 |
| 2015-16 | 21 | 80 | 35.3 | .506 | .257 | .520 | .724 | 7.7 | 4.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 16.9 |
| 2016-17 | 22 | 80 | 35.6 | .522 | .272 | .541 | .770 | 8.7 | 5.4 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 22.9 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/1/2017.
On the whole, this was an incredibly successful season for Giannis and there’s no reason to believe his game won’t just continue to grow with each season. As long as Giannis is healthy and playing as he did this year, the Bucks will be a scary team in the Eastern Conference. He is that good.
Without further introduction, let’s look deeper at Antetokounmpo’s 2016-17 season.