Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the verge of NBA stardom.
According to Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond.
As well as anyone else who has watched basketball within the last year.
Here’s Milwaukee’s GM talking to EuroHoops.net about the future of the Greek Freak and what he must do to climb over the hump and reach the Association’s superstar ranks, emphasis ours:
Eurohoops.net: How do you see Giannis and his future? What do you expect to see from him in 3 or 4 years?
Hammond: “I’ll tell you this. Giannis, at 21, needs two simple things to become an All Star, from this moment that we’re speaking: to score the open jump shots from 15-16 feet and three-pointers from the corners.”
Sounds reasonable, mostly because it’s accurate.
Antetokounmpo has found his groove as the Bucks’ primary ball-handler. Over his last 11 games, he’s averaging 20 points, 8.5 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 2.1 steals and two blocks per game—absurd numbers, even when you consider that he’s a 7-foot point guard, and this is what 7-foot points should really be able to do.
On the subject of his jumper, Hammond is absolutely correct. The Bucks are still hesitant to let him fire away from the perimeter. Almost 70 percent of his shot attempts are coming inside 10 feet of the hoop, per Basketball-Reference, and he’s shooting just 20.8 percent from deep. He’s also shooting under 35 percent from mid-range, according to NBA.com.
Greek Freak’s right corner triples have been on point, so there’s that. He’s shooting nearly 37 percent from that spot on the floor, but his struggles from the left corner and above the break are real. If he can ever become even an average perimeter sniper, he won’t just be an All-Star. He’ll be a megastar that contends for the best-player-at-his-position designation, not to mention some MVP awards.
