Giannis Antetokounmpo 3-ball a work in progress for Milwaukee Bucks

In an effort to defend his title as MVP, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has been more than willing to fire away from deep.

For various reasons, the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 6-3 start has gone under the radar. While reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has picked up where he left off a season ago, other cogs in the machine have lagged behind a bit.

Heading into the 2019-20 season, one major storyline surrounding the franchise was the development of Antetokounmpo’s 3-point ability. It’s safe to say the shot has come a long way, yet still has quite a ways to go.

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Through his first three seasons, Antetokounmpo averaged 1.1 3-point attempts per game and converted on 28 percent of them. The year after, as he made his first major leap towards stardom, the Greek Freak raised his attempts per game to 2.3, yet made just 27.2 percent of those attempts.

Things appeared to be trending in a positive direction in 2017-18 when his percentage rose to 30.7, but less than a year later, it dropped back down to 25.6.

Things needed to change. Antetokounmpo has known for quite some time that the absence of a steady 3-point shot could come back to bite him one day. He spoke about it in the offseason, having the following to say:

"“Shooting the 3 is gonna make it a lot easier for my game and a lot easier for my teammates, so I gotta add that element to my game.”"

The Bucks’ franchise player also mentioned that he managed to win the MVP award without anything resembling a consistent shot from deep. While this is entirely true, it’s refreshing that he’s hungry and willing enough to add parts to his game in order to increase Milwaukee’s chances of winning.

Through the team’s first nine games of the season, those results have been a mixed bag.

For the first time in his career, Antetokounmpo is averaging at least one made 3-pointer a night. While that’s coming on a career-high 4.0 attempts per game (27.8 percent success rate), the willingness to fire away is there. This includes a 2-of-5 shooting performance on opening night, a 4-of-7 game in the Bucks’ latest win over the the LA Clippers and a 2-of-6 game against Utah.

No one is expecting Antetokounmpo to turn into a 3-point marksman overnight. In all likelihood, he probably won’t ever become more than an average shooter from that range. On the other hand, that should be completely OK with the Bucks.

Mike Budenholzer’s offense is already lethal without complete floor spacing. Imagine the potential that could be unlocked if the team’s best player was a threat from distance.

The progression Giannis Antetokounmpo makes moving forward is a critical element to watch. After the calendar flipped from 2018 to 2019 last season, the do-it-all forward made 40 of his final 125 attempts from deep. That’s good for 32 percent.

While that’s still well below the league average, it would force defenses to at least respect the shot a little bit. If that happens, one of the NBA’s premier teams may reach a new level of dominance on the offensive side of the ball.