Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo should stop taking 3-pointers
How1995 MVP David Robinson compares to Giannis Antetokounmpo
David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs is perhaps the most underrated athletic specimen in NBA history. At 7’1″ and 235 lbs., he was built like one of Michelangelo’s sculptures. Similar to Giannis Antetokounmpo, “The Admiral” was just as strong as any of his contemporaries, while also being faster with a higher vertical leap.
Originally thought to be an elite athlete who would serve as a defensive anchor, Robinson proved to be no slouch on offense as he would go on to average 21.1 points per game for his career, and even win the scoring title in 1994. In addition to playing well with his back to the basket, Robinson also possessed one of the best face-up jump shots of his day.
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From 10 to 15 feet away from the basket, he could be relied on to knock down a high percentage of his shots. This made him an almost impossible cover for other seven-footers who were not used to stepping that far away from the basket to play defense.
In 1995, Robinson’s lone MVP season, he took just 19 3-point shots and made six of them. That 31.6 percent from beyond the arc is a higher clip than Giannis is shooting from distance this season. Pundits who argue that shooting 3-pointers keeps the defense honest fail to realize that opposing players and coaches learn tendencies and adapt accordingly.
Because Giannis is not reliable from 3-point range, many defenders can be seen sagging off of him and almost daring him to take the shot. Doing so doesn’t help the Bucks’ offensive spacing, it actually hurts. This allows defenses to clog the lane and makes ball movement tougher on Milwaukee. If Giannis misses, his team is much less likely to get an offensive rebound. If he makes it, the opposing coach says “we’ll live with that,” and will be delighted to see him try and duplicate the result on the next possession.