Giannis Antetokounmpo is coming off of a masterful season in which he averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game en route to leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the league's best record and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
However, the Bucks were bested by Kawhi Leonard's Toronto Raptors in six games, and during that series, it became increasingly obvious that while Antetokounmpo is a stud and a bona fide, he still has some things to work on.
Milwaukee lost Malcolm Brogdon this summer, but it still re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez and made some other nice lowkey moves such as signing Kyle Korver.
The Bucks should still be a prime contender in what is a weaker East overall, but in order for them to take that next step, Antetokounmpo should be aiming for these goals next season:
3. Cut Down on Turnovers
Antetokounmpo averaged 3.7 turnovers per game and 4.1 turnovers per 36 minutes this past season, both career highs. For comparison's sake, in 2017-18, Giannis registered three turnovers a night and just 2.9 giveaways per 36 minutes.
Now, obviously, a guy like Antetokounmpo who is handling the ball an awful lot is going to have some turnovers. That's understandable. But it would really, really help him if he would just cut down.
Part of the reason why Antetokounmpo was a bit prone to turning the rock over in 2018-19 was because he often barrels into the lane, looking to overpower defenders for easy buckets in the paint.
Of course, this is how Giannis gets a lot of his points, but it's a rather dangerous method, as he leaves himself wide open to get stripped, especially by smaller defenders.
Basically, Antetokounmpo needs to be more prudent and judicious with his drives to avoid losing the ball.
2. Shoot 80 Percent from the Free-Throw Line
There are some nights where Antetokounmpo is on the money from the free-throw line, but on other nights, he looks terrible from the stripe, and the result of that was a 72.9 percent effectiveness rate from the foul line in 2018-19 (63.7 percent in the playoffs).
It's not that Giannis is a terrible free-throw shooter. He is a lifetime 74.2 percent shooter from the line, and two seasons ago, he made 76 percent of his foul shots.
However, if Antetokounmpo wants to elevate his game to challenge players like Leonard, it would behoove him to shoot at least 80 percent from the charity stripe, especially considering that he gets there around 10 times a game.
1. Start Making Threes Regularly
I'm going to say this right now: unless Antetokounmpo develops some semblance of an outside shot, he is never going to be the best player in the league.
Yes, I know he won the MVP award this season, but that doesn't mean he is the best player. Let's be real: Kawhi is still noticeably better than Giannis, and LeBron James and Anthony Davis both have legitimate arguments, as well.
Antetokounmpo made just 25.6 percent of his three-pointers on 2.8 attempts per games this season. He is a lifetime 27.7 percent long-range shooter. That just isn't good enough.
The Raptors showed in the conference finals that Giannis is defensible because of his lack of a perimeter shot, and if he doesn't start hitting treys with some sort of regularity, he is going to continue to leave himself open to being severely limited in playoff series.
Antetokounmpo should be dedicating his entire summer to getting better from beyond the arc.
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