Giannis Antetokounmpo in a career year: The numbers and the big change compared to the last five years

A few days ago he set a career high with 64 points against the Indiana Pacers. Shortly thereafter, he became the leading rebounder in Bucks history and set a new career record with 16 assists against the San Antonio Spurs early Wednesday (Dec. 20). Giannis Antetokounmpo is in his 11th season in the NBA and while the Milwaukee team isn’t exactly exciting, he appears to be in top physical and mental shape.

The Greek Freak underwent surgery for a serious knee injury, his rehab last summer went without setbacks and the way he started the regular season shows how much rest he needs.

As of Wednesday afternoon (December 20), the Bucks currently have the third-best record in the entire NBA (20-7) and are behind the Boston Celtics, who lead the Eastern Conference (20-6). Without impressing, without convincing, without the numbers that make them one of the top teams in the league. They haven’t yet found the chemistry and competitive identity they need to win a championship. Their schedule is quite favorable, especially lately, and their five-game winning streak (all at Fiserv Forum) helps them “buy time” before the tough times come.

Antetokounmpo is currently averaging 30.6 points per game (31.1 last year, a career high), 11.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 steals (his career high of 1.6 from 2016-17) and 1 .2 blocks per game. 34.7 minutes. He is playing 2.6 more minutes than last year and is making 61.1% of his total shots, well above his career average (54%) and the 57.8% from 2018-19.

Antetokounmpo has gone from 59.6% to 65.1% on two-pointers and from 64.5% to 66.2% on shots. In simple words, Antetokounmpo continues to score in spurts and under better conditions while adding a super scorer and a high-volume shooter to the team. The presence of Damian Lillard opens up even more space, either to accelerate the noise or to create something. Pick your poison is the situation as if the opponent sends a second man to Giannis, he will find Lillard, Beasley, Connaughton, Middleton, Portis, Lopez on the three-point.

The big change we’re seeing is that the Bucks aren’t picking games to rest him. The many games and the many minutes have helped him find an amazing rhythm, he also plays in two consecutive games and out of 27 nights Antetokounmpo has only lost one, in Toronto against the Raptors. It shows that he’s healthy, that he’s determined, that he’s gunning for first place in the East and the best record in the NBA, that he’s not wasting a minute focusing on the bigger picture.

In recent memory, the Bucks have attempted to rest Giannis to give him time to address ankle, wrist and knee issues. This year, Antetokounmpo is very healthy and has played 75-80 games unless he gets injured. In his first season he had 77 innings, in the second 81, in the third 80, in the fourth also 80, in the fifth 75 and in the sixth 72. Since then he has written 63 (of 73), 61, 65, 63 .

At 29 years old, Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the most productive stretch of his career, averaging 32.3 points (63.1% overall, 68% shooting), 12.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.9 over the last month Steals and 1.1 blocks per 36.7 minutes. in 15 games. The Milwaukee Bucks’ record in these 15 games is 12-3.