To say Giannis Antetokounmpo has never been the NBA’s best shooter is a massive understatement. Once he picks up the ball and chucks it at the basket like a shot put, that’s a win fore the defense.
They’d rather him do that than have him gliding to the rim and casually dunking all over the defense. That strategy has worked against him relatively speaking — he did win the MVP last season, after all.
But that broken jumper is part of the reason why the Raptors were able to turn the tables on the Bucks midway through their playoff series last year. It was a legit weakness. At least until now, it seems.
That said… I still don’t really trust it.
Giannis is a better, but inconsistent, shooter
Defenses should still give Antetokounmpo all the cushion they need to stop him from getting to the rim. That’s where he’s most dangerous at, obviously.
But even on top of that, his 3-point shot isn’t prolific, by any means. He’s shooting 30 percent on 4.9 attempts per game. For a player of his caliber, that’s more than enough to give defenses pause. But a dive a bit deeper into the numbers says this shooting might not last.
Right now, Antetokounmpo’s three point field goals are coming after three to six dribbles according to NBA.com’s stats database. He’s shooting 34.1% on those, which is just a dip below league average. That’s a good number and it gets even better. He hits 37.5 percent of his 3-pointers when he takes just one dribble.
Most of his makes from deep are pull-up shots like this one.
Those dribbles on his makes are used to establish his rhythm and make the shot all one smooth-ish motion. It’s still not a great jumper, but it’s good enough.
When he grabs the ball off the catch, he’s still lining the shot up and getting his feet right. When he catches the ball, it’s like he’s still loading up.
His shot has made some progress, but it’s still inconsistent enough that you’ll live with it as a result if you’re the defense. He only shoots 30 percent for a reason.
Defenses should still give him this shot
Here’s where the concern comes in: He’s only hitting 15.4 percent of his spot-up attempts and is only taking 0.9 threes per game without a single dribble. That’s typically the easiest three you can take — especially from the corner. Yet he doesn’t take them and, when he does, he doesn’t hit them.
There’s a theme here. Antetokounmpo isn’t a great stand-still shooter. He’s shot under 30 percent from 3-point range after not taking a single dribble in five of the seven years of his career. The only two he was above 30 percent were his rookie year when he shot 32 percent and the 2017-18 season when he shot 34.5 percent.
He’s got the ball in his hands for most of the game, so he’s largely able to pick and choose what shots from deep he’s going to take. But pull-up 3’s are hard, even when no one is guarding you.
The Bucks, as a team, are shooting 37.9 percent off of one dribble but 30 percent from deep off of three to six dribbles. The more they dribble, the worse the shot quality gets.
Giannis is becoming a threat from deep, but he’s not a great one. So while he’s shooting a bit more, it’s not quite a wrap for the rest of the NBA just yet. If he keeps progressing like this, though? Good luck.