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For the past several years, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have failed to recapture the same success they experienced in 2021 when they won the franchise's first NBA Championship in 50 years.
The year after the title run, the Bucks, despite Antetokounmpo's best efforts, fell to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs. Then the real disappointments came; the Bucks, seeded first in the Eastern Conference, were shockingly eliminated by the Miami Heat in a five-game first-round series in 2023. Milwaukee, without Antetokounmpo due to a calf injury, similarly lost to the Indiana Pacers this past postseason in the first round.
The playoff failures naturally led to trades — Milwaukee traded Jrue Holiday and acquired Damian Lillard — and calls for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks to “change” in order to win another title. But Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP, 2021 Finals MVP, and perennially one of the best players in the world, said he does not need to change.
“Luka [Doncic] or Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] obviously have great things in their game. They’re very, very talented in many aspects of basketball. But there’s never been another person like me. So, why would I try to change? I just have to evolve Giannis, and that’s been my mindset all year: evolve Giannis every single day. Evolve Giannis, bro. And it’s been working so far,” Antetokounmpo said on the ‘Thanalysis' podcast hosted by his brother and former Bucks teammate Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo ‘evolving' with midrange shot this season
Giannis specifically pointed to the emergence of an adept midrange shot in his repertoire. The ‘Greek Freak' has been known through the years to be a poor shooter and more effectively slashing inside. But this season, Antetokounmpo has seemingly made a conscious effort to improve his non-paint efficiency by taking fewer three-pointers than he has in nearly a decade and simultaneously focusing on developing a reliable midrange jumper.
“Let me give you an interesting fact: Last year, the whole year, I made 36 midrange shots. This year, I think I’m already at 55, and it’s only been 23 games. That means this is becoming my game,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s one of those things where I had no choice. You have to evolve. You have to evolve. And I’m still working on it. I’m making shots, I’m becoming more comfortable, but I feel like I can make them at a higher clip. Next year, I want to shoot them at an even higher clip. I feel like other players shoot them way more often than I do.”
According to Basketball Reference, shots between 16 feet and the 3-point line comprise 15.1% of Antetokounmpo's total shots this season, which is the third-highest of his career. He is also making 42.9% of those shots, which is his second-highest mark since he came to the NBA. Between 10 and 16 feet, Antetokounmpo is shooting a career-high 54.1%. His previous high mark was 43.3% five years ago.
Despite a slow start, the Bucks have picked up win after win lately; Milwaukee is currently 13-11, good enough for sixth in the Eastern Conference, and has punched its proverbial ticket to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
