Milwaukee Bucks: 4 trends from first month of the 2019-20 season

The MVP ascends further

A season after being crowned the Most Valuable Player, Giannis Antetokounmpo appears ready to defend his MVP title, to say the least.

Antetokounmpo navigated through some early concerns but has improved upon the high marks he set for himself throughout his incredible 2018-19 campaign. Through the Bucks’ first 15 games, Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.5 points on a .566/.290/.606 slash line, along with 14.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks over 33 minutes per game. Per NBA.com/stats, no player in NBA history has been able to average that over the course of a regular season.

The 24-year old has stepped up his game to another level and has been an even greater force in his many strengths, such as scoring inside the paint where he’s averaging 18 points in the paint. Antetokounmpo has been even more of a threat kicking the ball out to open shooters as 55 of Antetokounmpo’s 99 assists this season have resulted in triples for his teammates.

Certainly the biggest development in Antetokounmpo’s season so far is the growing three-point threat he’s becoming and he’s connected on 17 of his 49 three-point attempts taken off the dribble, a mark of 34.7 percent. On the flip side, Antetokounmpo’s free throw shooting deficiencies have come under the spotlight, largely due to the many airballs he’s produced throughout his numerous trips to the charity stripe this season.

Year over year improvement is nothing new for Antetokounmpo, but it was fair to wonder just how much better the Greek superstar could be, especially after garnering the league’s highest individual achievement. And it’s safe to say that Antetokounmpo still has more room to grow and he’s showing that he may not be far off from his statement saying we’ve seen 60 percent of his potential prior to his seventh NBA season.