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Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo needs to build on outstanding rebounding year

By Jordan Treske

MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 26: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks grabs the rebound against the Boston Celtics in Game Six of the Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 26, 2018 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - APRIL 26: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks grabs the rebound against the Boston Celtics in Game Six of the Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 26, 2018 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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After averaging double figures in rebounding for the first time in his career last season, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will surely look to eclipse that mark next season.

When the topic of rebounding has been associated with the Milwaukee Bucks in recent years, groans and heavy sighs were surely to follow.

As my co-site expert Adam McGee explored on Tuesday, the Bucks have been an incredibly porous rebounding team on both ends of the floor all throughout the entire run of the Jason Kidd regime.

That has been especially evident over the last couple of seasons with the Bucks lacking a physical presence in the middle to help either snare down rebounds or open up space for others to do so to help lead the team out of the basement in this area around the league.

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While the team’s recent rebounding woes are hoping to be rectified with the arrival of new head coach Mike Budenholzer, individual glimmers of hope have been a rare beacon of light among the team’s struggles in this area. That sentiment applies to no one else better than Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo has significantly raised his total rebounding averages year over year and just last season, he hit the double-digit mark for the first time in his career by posting exactly 10 rebounds per game. Not since the final full campaign for Andrew Bogut back in the 2010-11 season could that be said about a Bucks player.

That alone placed the Greek dynamo with the cream of the crop as he was one of 14 players from around the league to amass double rebounding figures last season.

Delve deeper and it’s easy to get the sense that Antetokounmpo’s ability to attack the glass can be further unleashed with various tactical and individual modifications.

Per Second Spectrum tracking data via NBA.com/stats, Antetokounmpo registered 17.2 rebounding chances per game, which equated to a 58.1 rebounding chance percentage.

On one hand, that can be seen as a way to peg Antetokounmpo to become a more sturdier, efficient rebounder, especially in situations when directly battling and contesting opponents to snare down misses/loose balls. That’s backed up by the fact that Antetokounmpo posted a 32.4 contested rebounding percentage last season.

Perhaps that’s the next frontier for Antetokounmpo to cross as he looks to reinforce the standard he’s now set for himself with his expanding rebounding instincts and increasing physical nature (Giannis is determined this summer to put a different spin on the term “boxing out“).

The other wrinkle to this is how much of an impact the personnel changes the Bucks have made this year could affect Antetokounmpo’s productivity on the glass and the team as a whole next season.

For example, take new and likely starting big man Brook Lopez. Despite logging his worst total rebounding campaign for a full season across many traditional and advanced numbers as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, Lopez’s presence on the court led to good things on that front, especially on the defensive end.

In the 1,735 minutes Lopez was on the floor, the Lakers finished with a 78.6 defensive rebounding percentage and the purple and gold put up a 77 defensive rebounding percentage in the 2,246 minutes the former Stanford Cardinal was on the bench last year.

Playing alongside a player like Lopez who possesses a bulky frame and utilizes that by putting his savvy instincts to good use to hold off opponents could be that necessary variable to further unlock Antetokounmpo’s potential as a complete rebounder.

As has been dissected and analyzed throughout his ascendance as one of the league’s premier talents, there’s no question over how essential the element of cleaning up on the glass is to Giannis’ complete package of talents.

After all, it’s directly linked to his greatest strength in helping provide him a runway to charge, manuever and extend by scrambling opponents while in the open floor for scoring opportunities for himself and for others.

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Due to all the great strides he has made in this department in his rise over the last five years, there isn’t much separating Antetokounmpo from putting his rebounding skills and know how among elite company, much like his all around game.

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