Written by: Eric Spyropoulos
Giannis Antetokounmpo (aka “The Greek Freak”) has officially arrived in the NBA. Many would say he had already arrived in the league last season when he essentially took over the point guard position down the stretch of a lost Bucks season, but this season he is flat-out terrorizing opponents. Let’s take a closer look at his game and how incredible his performance has been this season.
Let’s start off with the numbers. So far this season, Giannis is averaging 22.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 6.1 apg, 2.2 spg, and 2.2 bpg. Yes, you read that right. The man is averaging over two steals and two blocks per game. According to Statmuse, those numbers have never been posted in a season before. If he holds those averages, The Greek Freak would make NBA history.
If you look at his per-36 minutes stats, the man is putting up 23.4 ppg, 9 rpg, 6.3 apg, 2.3 spg, and 2.3 bpg. That is one of, if not the most well rounded stat line in the NBA, all coming from a 21 year old.
When taking a look at the advanced numbers, Antetokounmpo’s season continues to jump off the page. Giannis has a 26.9 PER, 9.7 BPM (5.0 OBPM, 4.7 DBPM), .228 WS/48, and a 3.95 RPM. There aren’t enough ways to communicate how incredible Giannis has been so far this season.
And perhaps the big thing for the Bucks is that he is leading them to wins. As of this writing, the Bucks are 10-8, on a four game winning streak, and slotted in 5th in the Eastern Conference, well above what most people expected out of the team this season, especially after Kris Middleton went down with his quad injury.
Giannis doesn’t have much spacing around him, but that isn’t stopping him from forcing his way to the rim. He’s doing a much better job of drawing fouls this season, as he’s at a career high 6.7 free throw attempts per game. Plus, when Giannis gets to the rim, he’s going to finish; he’s shooting 58.5% on shots inside the paint, above the league average of 55.5% (Statmuse). This is important because nearly 56% of his shots come from within three feet, showing his incredible capability to get to the rim and finish (Basketball Reference).
Giannis has also turned in to a one man wrecking crew in transition. He seemingly gets from one end of the court to the other in three strides, making it nearly impossible for defenders to get in proper position to stop him. Just look at some of these transition drives to the hoop in the Bucks’ comfortable win over the Cavaliers last week:
Giannis can get a steal, block, or rebound on one end and in the blink of an eye be driving to the opposing rim. He has turned in to the Eastern Conference version of Russell Westbrook in transition, except Giannis does a significantly better job of finishing at the rim (58.5% vs. Russ’s 51.9%).
The full unleashing of #PointGiannis has been one of the best things to happen to not only the Bucks in recent years, but the league in general. Giannis Antetokounmpo has transformed the Bucks in to a must watch League Pass team, and they surely will continue to be one for years to come with Jabari Parker right at The Greek Freak’s side.
