2. Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton has done all of the right things throughout his career with the Milwaukee Bucks and serves as the perfect Robin to Giannis Antetokounnmpo’s Batman. The 28-year-old wing can score with decent efficiency, handle the ball, distribute, rebound and play defense. He’s a jack-of-all-trades that excels in very few areas, yet is well-versed in just about everything.
His scoring saw an uptick towards the end of last season. Middleton averaged 20.7 and 22.0 points per game in March and April, respectively. He was unspectacular during Milwaukee’s playoff run (as much of the team was towards the end), though. Posting a field goal percentage of 41.8 in 15 games, Milwaukee’s second-best player ended the stretch on a sour note.a
Although he’s missed a quarter of the Bucks’ games due to injury, Middleton has been terrific as a whole this season. In addition to scoring his usual 18 points per night, grabbing several rebounds and amassing a few assists in the process, his efficiency has spiked to borderline historic levels.
Middleton isn’t far off from joining the NBA’s highly-regarded 50-40-90 club, as his field goal percentage (49.3), 3-point percentage (40.4) and free throw percentage (89.5) are all close.
It will be interesting to see if Middleton can keep this high level of play up over the course of a long NBA season. He’s notorious for being remarkably accurate from deep and at the line, but the field goal percentage is a pleasant surprise.