Subscribe
Follow Us
After a first-round playoff exit and watching Damian Lillard reach a buyout, many questioned whether Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo was next. The Bucks still look to Antetokounmpo to lead. And while the front office reached a deal to let Lillard go, GM Jon Horst is confident in Antetokounmpo's ability to be the team's new point guard.
Horst says Antetokounmpo has proven himself to be a unique point-forward, per The Athletic's Eric Nehm.
“I feel like we’ve always played with a certain type of guard,” Horst said. “Typically a guard that’s willing to catch and shoot, a guard that is capable of being a primary playmaker, but doesn’t need to be a primary playmaker. And I think some of our best teams that we’ve ever had — and we’ve had a lot of great teams — we had guys at the guard spot in that mold. They can really shoot.
“They’re capable and willing defenders, and they could go five, six, seven possessions and just play off Giannis, or they can go five, six, seven possessions and they can initiate our offense,” Horst concluded.
The Bucks are more than comfortable putting the ball in Giannis' hands.
“And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We tried to build a team like that this offseason,” Horst added. “Take the opportunity for Giannis to go even more down that road. I would say we’ve always doubled down on it, maybe we’re tripling down or quadrupling down on it now. He just continues to grow at such a high rate in generating 3-point shots for his teammates. It’s elite. His decision-making is elite. His turnover game is reducing.”
It's how Antetokounmpo has proven himself as an efficient facilitator.
“He truly is becoming a real point guard — or a real point forward, like Doc calls it — so I think that allows us to dive even deeper into it than we have in the past, but I think those have always been some of our most successful lineups and groups,” Horst said. “Putting him out there with a bunch of shooters and ball movers and let him just dominate. You stop him, he passes it. You don’t, he dunks it. And I feel like we’ve got a number of those guys.”
Bucks GM on why Myles Turner is worth Damian Lillard's deal
Bucks GM Jon Horst signed Myles Turner after losing Damian Lillard. For the veteran GM it was worth it, considering Lillard's devastating injury will force him to miss the entire 2025-26 campaign. Still, Horst believes Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo can lead as the team's new point guard.
