Milwaukee Bucks: 3 reasons for optimism after the 2022 All-Star break

Reason No. 3 – Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to get better and better for the Milwaukee Bucks

After winning MVP in 2018-19, then MVP and DPOY in 2019-20, and Finals MVP in 2020-21, it was hard to picture Giannis Antetokounmpo getting any better… but he has.

Some of his numbers might not be at the level of his 2019-20 season, but this has been the best year of Giannis’ career to this point. He continues to develop his game and become a more complete player while remaining just as dominant as ever game in and game out.

The Greek Freak is averaging 32.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per 36 minutes on 63 percent true shooting. Since Christmas, his per 36 numbers are 35.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 6.9 assists on an absurd 66 percent true shooting.

Those overall numbers might not seem too out of the ordinary for Giannis, but there are specific parts to his game that have improved this season… particularly, shooting, passing, and free throws. He is shooting his best percentage from three since 2013 (30.9 percent), his best percentage from midrange since 2014 (39.4 percent), and his best percentage on free throws since 2018 (72.1 percent). He also is at his best assist to turnover ratio since 2016 (1.83 assists per turnover).

His development has been on full display lately, as, over the last 10 games, he is shooting 62 percent from the field, 41 percent from three, 51 percent from midrange, and 74 percent from the free throw line. Over that span, he is dishing out 6.1 assists per game to just 2.6 turnovers.

Giannis is making a strong case to be named MVP once again this year, and if he wins it, he’ll be just the 9th player ever to win the award three or more times. Keep in mind, he’s only 27 years old.

With Giannis leading the way, Milwaukee Bucks fans can be confident that they’ll be right in the mix at the end of the year with a chance to win another title.