Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is arguably the best player in the world today and has been for the last several years.
His dominance, while not oftentimes quite as flashy as other star players who hit step-back jumpers, is undeniable. Last season, he became the NBA's first player ever to average 30 points on 60 percent field goal shooting. Still, feats like that apparently aren't enough for some. One former player who has been making headlines for a foolish take about the Greek Freak is Lou Williams.
On FanDuel Sports Network's 'Run it Back,' Williams had this to say about Giannis and why he is different from some of the other top players in the game today.
"I feel like Giannis hasn't added pieces to his game. As you get older, as you evolve in this game, you've got to add something. Usually, you see guys add something. We saw [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] add pieces to his game from last year to this year. [Nikola Jokic] has been way more dominant this year than he was last year.
You see guys adding a piece. I want to see Giannis add a piece. That mid-range, we were talking about that mid-range earlier in the season, kind of got away from it. Add the three-ball, add something to your bag that we haven't seen. I think it's just more of the same."
Giannis' mid-range numbers this season are unbelievable
Williams briefly touched on it, but it feels like he's completely disregarding Giannis' Antetokounmpo's growth as a mid-range shooter this season. The Greek Freak is currently shooting 103-of-221 (46.6 percent) in the mid-range in 2024-25. Let's break down his percentages in recent years.
2020-21: 51-of-143 (35.7 percent)
2021-22: 85-of-205 (41.5 percent)
2022-23: 69-of-192 (35.9 percent)
2023-24: 61-of-174 (35.1 percent)
Does the efficiency he's showing this year not indicate that he's added a new weapon to his arsenal compared to recent years?
To put into perspective how good Giannis Antetokounmpo has been in the mid-range this season, let's compare him to some other players. Giannis currently has the sixth-most mid-range makes in the league this season. Among players to attempt at least 160 of them, he currently sits fourth in percentage. Ahead of him is Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Devin Booker.
That's great company when talking about the league's best mid-range scorers today.
As for Lou Williams saying that Giannis has "kind of got away from" the mid-range, the power forward is shooting 23-of-46 (50 percent) from that spot after the NBA All-Star break. It is clearly still a crucial component of his offensive game.
At the end of the day, comments like this aren't the end all be all, but when they are this egregious, they deserve some pushback.
Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn't been perfect this season, but to say that he hasn't added anything to his game when he's statistically been one of the best shooters from the mid-range is flat-out foolish. This is a player who has never been much of a jump-shooter at all, and he's developed his shot to a point where he's one of the NBA's best in a particular regard this year.
Sure, he may never have the three-ball, but an elite mid-range is still quite a display of growth.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.