Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has always been labelled as a 'bagless' player who needs to add any form of jump shot to take his game to the next level. He has become one of the league's most reliable mid-range scorers, and the skill is here to stay.
The two-time MVP and his Greece teammates have just finished their EuroBasket warmup games, with the tournament set to tip off on Wednesday, August 27. In the warmup games that Giannis did play, the jump shot looked as smooth as ever, with him making them from all parts of the mid-range with a variety of touch on his shots.
Last season, he developed the mid-range shot, and EuroBasket will help him find his flow ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Giannis' mid-range opens up the game for the Bucks
In the 2024-25 regular season, Giannis shot 44.2 percent from the mid-range, making 1.9 of his 4.2 shots per game. For the Bucks, this sets them up perfectly for the upcoming season. Teams have tried to sit deep in the paint as a method to stop Giannis and force him into making jump shots. Now he is making them from the mid-range, which leaves opposing defenses in a tough spot: do they sit or do they press him?
Only four players made more total mid-range shots than Giannis in the regular season, with DeMar DeRozan, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant tallying more than the Greek Freak.
Greece's win over Latvia allowed Giannis to show off how reliable he now is from the mid-range. It was his first time returning to the court since the Bucks' Game 5 defeat to the Indiana Pacers back in late April. It didn't faze him, as he made multiple pull-up jumpers from hesitation dribbles, one-legged fadeaways in the post and a turnaround jumper over his right shoulder.
With the Bucks adding plenty of athleticism and shooting to their roster, the offense and defense are now so much more versatile around Giannis. Teams have to decide what to do about Giannis, but that can open up the paint for cutters, or teams still try to overwhelm Antetokounmpo and leave shooters wide open.
For Giannis' career moving forward, adding this skill is huge as he continues to develop as a half-court scorer. Of course, his athleticism will stay with him for plenty more years, but this just opens up the game more for him and the Milwaukee Bucks as he heads into his 30s as an "older" player.
We have seen Giannis' game continue evolving throughout his career in Milwaukee. The Bucks are now playing catch-up with the rest of the league and are finally heading down the road of younger, more athletic players to surround their superstar.
Giannis has become one of the league's best mid-range scorers, and that looks like it won't change for some time.