Giannis Antetokounmpo grabbing rebounds at a near historic rate
By Adam McGee
As Giannis Antetokounmpo has continued to dominate the competition, his 2019-20 season has him nearing a historic Milwaukee Bucks rebounding mark.
It’s not unusual for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to do more than his fair share for his team.
In recent years, Antetokounmpo has had seasons when he’s led the Bucks in all five major stat categories, as well as ranking in the top-20 in the entirety of the NBA across those various statistics too.
More from Bucks News
- Bucks 2023-24 player profile: Can MarJon Beauchamp take a leap?
- Piecing together the Milwaukee Bucks’ dream starting 5 in 5 years
- Predicting Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 stats for the Bucks
- Grade the trade: Bucks land reputable backup guard in swap with Pacers
- New workout video should have Milwaukee Bucks fans excited
Put simply, Antetokounmpo is the definition of a do-it-all player. The 25-year-old frequently posts stat lines that force a double take and speak to just how central he’s been in every element of his team’s performance.
If there’s one area where Antetokounmpo takes on an even greater share of responsibility, though, it’s rebounding.
Now in his seventh NBA season, Antetokounmpo’s rebounds per game have increased year on year, without fail, in spite of the fact his minutes per game have now started to trend in the opposite direction.
With the Lopez twins providing the Bucks with a pair of box-out masters, the path is then cleared for someone to come in and simply clean up the boards. This is exactly what Antetokounmpo does, with a borderline absurd level of success.
To provide some context in the greater history of the Bucks, it’s incredibly rare to find players who managed to secure a higher percentage of their rebound opportunities than Antetokounmpo has grabbed this season.
Boasting a total rebounding percentage of 22 percent, a career-high, before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, Giannis was in the mix for recording one of the most single-handedly dominant campaigns on the glass of any Buck ever.
If the season wasn’t to resume or Antetokounmpo was to hold his current pace through the end of the regular season following any resumption, he would slot in with the third highest single season rebounding percentage of all-time for a Buck, overtaking his own 2018-19 entry.
Interestingly, though, Antetokounmpo is very much within range of the top two spots.
Swen Nater‘s 1976-77 season has him ranked as the franchise’s all-time leader at 22.8 percent, while Dan Gadzuric‘s 2004-05 campaign saw him post a total rebounding percentage of 22.2 percent, per Basketball-Reference.
Interestingly, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar‘s best season with the Bucks in that category came in the championship winning 1970-71 campaign, where he averaged 16 boards per game, but recorded a total rebounding percentage of just 18.9.
Considering the Bucks are leading the league in rebounding this year, it highlights just how large a role Antetokounmpo has played in that particular achievement. Rebounding is undoubtedly a team effort, but Antetokounmpo is individually securing boards at an unusually high rate.
Next. Brook Lopez’s underrated ability to score off of drives. dark
It’s just yet another indicator of the fact that if Antetokounmpo signs on for an extension to remain in Milwaukee, it’s just a matter of time before his name begins to dominate the franchise’s record books.