Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo is the NBA’s rising star
Giannis Antetokounmpo enters this season as the NBA’s new star. Why is the Milwaukee Bucks’ forward gaining popularity so quickly?
History suggests that the 2017-18 Milwaukee Bucks will miss the playoffs this season. After all, for the past five seasons the Bucks have never made the postseason two years in a row, alternating between playoffs (2013, ’15, ’17) and lottery (2014, ’16). But this year will almost certainly be different.
As with every NBA team, there are a number of reasons they should make the playoffs, from the front office to the coaching staff and up-and-down the roster. But the real reason is that Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 22 year-old forward from Athens, Greece, is a bonafide star.
The NBA is a star’s league. With just five players on the court for a team at any given time, the impact of a single player is much greater than in football, baseball or other team sports. The lack of protective gear means their faces and features are on display every minute they are on the court. And the ability for fans of all ages to imitate them by themselves — with a basketball and hoop, or a piece of paper and a trash can — means the ability to relate and connect is that much more enhanced.
Each year it seems that a different player across the league is anointed as the “next big thing.” Last season it was Minnesota big man Karl-Anthony Towns, when he was appointed to lead the Timberwolves to the postseason. Instead, understandably, a team with a core of 21-year-olds need a little more time to grow.
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Two summers ago it was Anthony Davis selected to be the next huge star. While Davis has put up monstrous numbers while on the court, injuries and poor organizational support have kept him from truly taking up the mantle, although few would argue he is a top-10 player in the league.
From Kevin Durant to Blake Griffin, Kyrie Irving to LeBron James, players generate hype as they approach the edge of superstardom. In the modern NBA, where social media makes players and their accomplishments that much more accessible, the hype is borderline out-of-control.
And for the 2017-18 season, that hype is centered around the rising star with the impossible-to-pronounce name.
Giannis Antetokounmpo — the “Greek Freak” for those who want to take the easy path — entered the league in 2013, forgoing a place in a top European league for a chance at the NBA. When John Hammond and the Milwaukee Bucks took him 15th in the 2013 NBA Draft, many thought they were reaching way too far for a player who may never develop.
Except develop he did, growing in leaps and bounds each and every season. For four years straight Antetokounmpo has increased his per-game averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Last year he lead the Bucks in each of those five categories, an elite accomplishment.
The first hints that Antetokounmpo was on the path to greatness came in the latter half of the 2015-16 season, when head coach Jason Kidd turned the keys of the offense over to him. That was the first display of “Point Giannis,” a 6’11” wing handling the ball like a point guard. On fast breaks his incredible length and speed ate up the court faster than defenders could react.
Last season the Antetokounmpo hype train began to leave the station, as many predicted the young man’s first All-Star appearance. Although few expected the Bucks to make the playoffs after Khris Middleton was lost to injury before the season began, Antetokounmpo was expected to be a bright spot for fans.
He was more than that, putting together an incredible season and leading the Bucks into the postseason as the sixth-best team in the Eastern Conference despite an injury to his talented young wingman Jabari Parker.
Fans voted the Greek Freak into the All-Star game as a starter, and at the end of the year he was named to the All-NBA Second Team ahead of players such as Jimmy Butler, Paul George, Draymond Green and Carmelo Anthony.
In the postseason, the Bucks eventually lost to the Toronto Raptors in six games. But Milwaukee made it a difficult series, winning two of the first three games to spark conversation of whether the Bucks were ready to take a step up in the Eastern Conference hierarchy. Antetokounmpo was nearly unguardable, and defensively he was making plays that fans could only dream of.
Since the end of last season, Antetokounmpo has been at the center of the discussion of “the next great thing.” Although he has already put together excellent seasons, this next year could be the one where he truly steps up alongside the very best in the league.
ESPN‘s Summer Forecast ranked Antetokounmpo fifth among likely MVP winners, ahead of defending-MVP Russell Westbrook and two-time MVP Stephen Curry. If the Bucks finish high enough in the standings, Antetokounmpo is looking to be a legitimate threat to win the award.
Other rewards are heading his way as well. The four-year shoe deal he signed with Nike expires this year, and the young star is being courted by every major shoe company. Antetokounmpo is not simply an exciting player on the court, but his international appeal means marketability across the globe.
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As Dirk Nowitzki circles down towards retirement, there is room for a new player to take the mantle of best international player. There is no doubt that Antetokounmpo is currently the best player to come from overseas, but he is also stepping into the role of the most popular.
Domestically, despite his long, foreign name, he is winning the hearts of fans with his cheerful, almost goofy demeanor off-court and his ferocious and explosive play on it. As a player who grew from a true project to a bonafide star, Antetokounmpo is a variation of the rags-to-riches story that always draws followers.
As with all stars, Antetokounmpo is not without controversy. After withdrawing from an international competition with the Greek National Team, Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks organization have been accused of foul play. This will only increase the tension between the NBA and FIBA, and as one of the league’s best players not suiting up for Team USA, Antetokounmpo will be at the center of the discussion for years to come.
Odds are that Giannis Antetokounmpo will not win MVP this season — the Milwaukee Bucks should be improved, and may even host a playoff series, but are unlikely to win enough games to propel him into that discussion. But if he continues to improve, as he has every season, another year starting the All-Star game and appearing on the All-NBA teams will only build his brand.
As players such as Thon Maker and Jabari Parker improve alongside Antetokounmpo, there is reason to expect this team can compete with Boston and Philadelphia at the top of the conference once LeBron James is no longer the undisputed king. That is when Antetokounmpo will have the chance to claim an MVP award, something that is bordering on an eventuality given his career path thus far.
Milwaukee has not had a player on this level in over four decades, and that is exciting both for fans of the Bucks and across the world. As he continues growing from a lanky, baby-faced teenager unfamiliar with fruit smoothies to a chiseled, rim-destroying superstar, the hype will only continue to grow that this could be the league’s next great thing.
Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Complete 2017 offseason grades
Given how things have gone thus far, there is no reason to doubt any future for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The sky is the limit, and everyone else is just excited to be there to watch.