Milwaukee Bucks: 3 ways Giannis Antetokounmpo is improving as a scorer
Coming off his season-high 49-point performance, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is gearing up for the Bucks’ upcoming playoff run.
Antetokounmpo helped propel the Bucks to one of their biggest victories of the season Sunday afternoon when they hung on to edge out the Brooklyn Nets 117-114. The fact that it came after Antetokounmpo was sidelined with a sprained ankle that kept him out of the Bucks’ previous win made it all the more impressive.
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Having written such a spectacular performance, the reigning MVP is now up to averaging 28.4 points on .568/.313/.682 shooting in his eighth NBA season.
While Antetokounmpo’s raw scoring output is down from the career-high 29.5 points per game he averaged for the 2019-20 season, the efficiency that the Greek superstar is playing at is nearing on his first MVP season. Antetokounmpo has currently matched his career-high 59.9 effective field goal percentage and has a 63.3 true shooting percentage with less than two weeks to go this season.
It would be hard to say that Antetokounmpo is reaching the pinnacle of his play, considering the strong body of work that has put together before this season. But the 26-year-old has made marked improvements when it comes to scoring the basketball this season.
So without further ado, let’s break down how Giannis Antetokounmpo’s scoring has improved across various areas for the Milwaukee Bucks this 2020-21 season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has improved his 3-point shot for the Milwaukee Bucks
Long been the long-standing weakness in his game, Antetokounmpo has been wrestling with his 3-point shooting deficiencies for some time now.
What used to be an unwillingness to let it fly dating back to the Jason Kidd era, Antetokounmpo has broken out of his shell under Mike Budenholzer, though it hasn’t come with any real improvements. And opposing teams have let it known how they will continue to treat Antetokounmpo when he does pull up from beyond the arc.
However, the more reps and shots that Antetokounmpo has launched, he’s steadily grown a rhythm in such spots and it’s helped him hit 31.3 percent of his 195 3-point attempts on the season. That currently registers as the second-highest mark of Antetokounmpo’s career and stands behind his rookie year where he went 41-for-118 from three (34.7 percent).
While Antetokounmpo’s personal 3-point attempt rate is down year over year from 23.7 percent to 19.9 percent, he’s traded that with higher efficiency as the year has gone along. Small sample size alert, which has been made so by his injury absences, but Antetokounmpo is up to 22-for-58 from downtown after the All-Star break, good for 37.9 percent.
That improved shooting won’t do a thing about how opposing defenses treat Antetokounmpo from behind the 3-point line. What Antetokounmpo has done, though, to make those defenses pay has been maintaining his rhythm when firing away from that range and the numbers back it up too.
Per NBA.com/stats, Antetokounmpo has hit 33.1 percent of his 157 3-point attempts off the dribble this year. The more dribbles Antetokounmpo has before putting up a 3-point shots, the more likely the shot is going on. Antetokounmpo is 29-for-75 from three (38.7 percent) when having made 3-6 dribbles and 12-for-29 when attempting 7-plus dribbles before shooting (41.4 percent).
Compare that to the 21.9 percent Antetokounmpo is shooting on the 91 combined 3-point shots he has taken when making 0-2 dribbles and it’s clear maintaining that rhythm is key for Antetokounmpo to earn some respect from opposing defenders.