Greek Freak Analyzed

Category: SKILLS

Why Giannis Antetokounmpo Struggles as a Passer: Breaking Down His Assist-to-Turnover Woes
So this is the assist to turnover ratio for last season:

Yes, Giannis right at the top. How about the year before that?

You get the picture, Giannis is a terrible passer, always at the top of that chart. His evolution into a pseudo-point guard role for the Bucks shows up one glaring weakness that persists in his game: his passing. Specifically, Giannis consistently ranks among the league’s worst in assist-to-turnover ratio, a metric that measures a player’s efficiency as a distributor. So, why does a player of his caliber struggle so much in this area? Let’s dive into the how and why behind Giannis’ passing woes.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

To understand the scope of Giannis’ struggles, we need to look at the stats. In the 2024-25 season (as of March 9, 2025), Giannis is averaging 6.0 assists per game against 3.5 turnovers, according to recent data. That gives him an assist-to-turnover ratio of roughly 1.71:1—far from elite for a player handling the ball as often as he does. For comparison, top-tier playmakers like Nikola Jokić (around 3.5:1) or Chris Paul (often above 4:1 in his prime) showcase the kind of efficiency Giannis lacks. Even among his peers with high usage rates, like LeBron James, Giannis’ ratio stands out as subpar. Here is this season so far, second worse in the league:

Historically, this isn’t a new issue. Last season he had the worst assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA, and while that claim requires context (usage rate, role, etc.), it’s not far from the truth when looking at players with similar ball-handling responsibilities. Over his career, Giannis has improved his assist numbers—from 2.6 per game in his sophomore season to nearly 6.0 now—but his turnovers have climbed alongside them, often hovering around 3.0 to 4.0 per game. The result? A ratio that rarely cracks the 2:1 mark, a benchmark for competent playmaking. It is almost as if all he cares about is the absolute number of assists for his double doubles and triple doubles. Hell, could he be the definition of a stat padder?

How Giannis’ Style Leads to Turnovers

So, what’s happening on the court? Giannis’ passing struggles stem from a combination of his playing style, physical attributes, and decision-making tendencies.
1. Reliance on Power Over Precision
  Giannis is a freight train in transition and a bulldozer in the half-court, using his 6’11” frame and 7’3” wingspan to overwhelm defenders. This physical dominance is his superpower, but it doesn’t translate seamlessly to passing. Unlike finesse passers like Jokić or Draymond Green, Giannis doesn’t rely on pinpoint accuracy or subtle reads. His passes often come out of sheer necessity—kicking the ball out after drawing a double-team or forcing a feed into tight windows—rather than calculated design. This leads to sloppy deliveries, intercepted lobs, or balls sailing out of bounds.
2. High Usage, High Risk
  Giannis’ usage rate consistently ranks among the league’s highest—around 28-30% in recent seasons, per available data. The Bucks’ offense runs through him, whether he’s driving to the rim or initiating from the top of the key. With so much responsibility, turnovers are inevitable, especially for a player who isn’t a natural playmaker. Guards like James Harden or Luka Dončić, who also have high usage, offset their turnovers with elite vision and ball-handling. Giannis, however, lacks the same level of control, often dribbling into traffic or attempting ambitious passes his skill set can’t consistently execute.
3. Limited Perimeter Game
  Giannis’ lack of a reliable jump shot forces him into predictable patterns. Defenses sag off him, clogging the paint and daring him to pass out of pressure. While he’s improved at finding open teammates—hence the uptick in assists—this also increases his turnover risk. He’s often surrounded by multiple defenders, leaving little margin for error on his passes. Smaller, quicker guards can thread needles or manipulate angles; Giannis, with his size and longer release, struggles to do so under duress.
Why He’s “Terrible” Compared to Peers

Calling Giannis a “terrible passer” might feel harsh given his assist totals, but the assist-to-turnover ratio highlights a real deficiency relative to his peers. Players like LeBron James or even Draymond Green, who also play point-forward roles, maintain ratios above 2.5:1 or even 3:1 in peak seasons. Jokić, another big man with playmaking duties, blows Giannis out of the water with his efficiency. So, why does Giannis lag behind?
- Vision and Anticipation: Giannis’ court vision is not instinctual. He reacts to what he sees rather than anticipating plays two steps ahead, a hallmark of elite passers. This reactive style leads to late passes that defenders can jump.
- Ball-Handling: For all his athletic gifts, Giannis’ handle is loose compared to smaller guards. He’s prone to strips or losing control in tight spaces, inflating his turnover count.
- Role Mismatch: The Bucks ask Giannis to be a hybrid of a point guard and a rim-running big. It’s a tall order, and while he’s adapted admirably, he’s not wired for the precision that role demands at an elite level.
Giannis started playing ball late in life. He simply does not have the fast responses of other players that grew up on the court and are used to pressure.

Still, the efficiency gap remains. The Bucks’ system mitigates some of this by surrounding him with shooters and cutters, but it can’t fully mask his limitations. When compared to players who marry high assist totals with low turnovers, Giannis’ passing looks pedestrian—or worse.

Can He Fix It?

At 30 years old, Giannis isn’t likely to transform into a Chris Paul-level distributor. His physical tools and relentless drive are his identity, and the Bucks have won a championship with him as their chaotic, turnover-prone fulcrum. Maybe it was an extremely lucky championship run. Maybe Khris got the team through the hardest parts of those playoffs in clutch situations. That said, small improvements—like tightening his handle, refining his reads, or simplifying his passes—could nudge his ratio closer to respectability.

Conclusion: A Flawed Giant

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s passing struggles, epitomized by his poor assist-to-turnover ratio, are a byproduct of his unique game. He got himseld into a playmaker’s role, because he wants the ball in order to get easy buckets by running the floor but he is faltering where precision matters most. Is he a “terrible passer”? In the context of efficiency metrics, yes—he’s always among the league’s worst for his role. No two ways about it. The Bucks will not get far with Giannis running the floor like this.
March 9, 2025
Giannis is no DPOY, not even close

It is not just the stats. It is the lack of basketball IQ that is showing as the league moves ahead with young, able players that show him up more and more. Giannis’ fans confuse the way he plays in the regular season with real NBA basketball. Because he is so willing to play hard a lot of teams let him roam freely rather than get injured. But when it counts? Here are some of his many many weaknesses in defence.

Giannis often suffers guarding forwards and bigs, but his size and foot speed can be an even bigger liability against smaller, faster guards. Players who excel at creating space—like Steph Curry or Trae Young—can sometimes pull him out to the three-point line and exploit his less agile lateral movement. One area where this might stand out is in pick-and-roll defense. Giannis often plays as a roaming help defender or rim protector, using his length to disrupt plays. However, when teams force him to switch onto quicker guards or navigate screens, his lack lateral agility is tested. He’s not as nimble as smaller defenders, so shifty players like Kyrie Irving can occasionally exploit that initial hesitation before he recalibrates. It’s less about a lack of effort or skill and more about his 6’11” frame needing a beat to shift gears against certain matchups.

Giannis thinks he is a phenomenal help defender, often swooping in for blocks. However, this aggression can lead him to overcommit, leaving his man open if the pass gets kicked out. Teams with good ball movement, like the Warriors or Celtics, can punish this by swinging the ball to shooters when he collapses into the paint. He has a tendency to gamble for blocks or steals. Giannis loves to hunt highlight-reel plays, which can leave him out of position if he misreads the offense. For instance, if he bites on a pump fake or overcommits to help, the defense behind him has to scramble, and it might look like he’s slow to recover. Stats-wise, the Bucks’ defensive rating with him on the floor (around 108-110 in recent seasons) may still look OK, but those moments of adjustment can stick out in a game. He has an over-Reliance on Help Defense.

He is also terrible at screen navigation: In pick-and-roll-heavy schemes, Giannis can struggle to fight through or around screens efficiently. (And we all know he can’t set a screen to save his life, one of the worse in the league at it.) His length helps him recover, but crafty offenses can use multiple screens to force him into awkward positions, either isolating him on an island or pulling him away from the rim where he’s most dominant. And he is slow to understand what is going on which in clutch situations is often fatal for his team.

His physicality is a strength, but it can backfire with foul trouble. Giannis sometimes picks up cheap fouls contesting shots or battling in the post—averaging around 3 fouls per game. Against savvy vets like Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokić, who draw contact, he can get stuck on the bench, weakening the Bucks’ defense.

While he’s OK at reading passing lanes (around 1 steal per game), Giannis can occasionally lose track of cutters or shooters when he’s not directly engaged with the ball handler. Teams that run complex off-ball actions—like the Heat with their motion offense—can exploit this if he’s not locked in. Positioning on Off-Ball Plays is definitely a weakness for Giannis.

The Bucks’ scheme often masks these flaws by pairing him with guys like Jrue Holiday (now gone) or Brook Lopez, who clean up perimeter and paint mistakes. But it can only go so far and for sure teams discussing trades are concerned about these weaknesses. Combined with his inability in clutch situations, Giannis is more of a regular season try hard player than anything else.

What should really worry the Bucks is the fact that Giannis doesn’t seem able to improve. Like his free throws (worse ever in his career so far) and his 3point shooting (worse in NBA history). Instead they make a fuss about a mid range which is a myth as it disappears when the pressure is on. I’m not the only one seeing these facts and stats. The whole league knows his limitations and plays accordingly when it counts.

March 8, 2025
Artificial Intelligence dissects Giannis

Grok3 has an interesting and very valid summary of stuff I have been writing about elsewhere regarding Giannis in the playoffs:

“Limited Outside Shooting: Giannis isn’t a consistent threat from beyond the arc. His three-point shooting has improved over the years, but it’s still not elite (career 28.6% as of the 2023-24 season). Defenses often sag off him, daring him to shoot from deep.

Free-Throw Struggles: His free-throw percentage hovers around 70% (career 70.2% through 2023-24), which is decent but not great for a star player. In high-pressure situations, like the playoffs, this can be a liability—teams may exploit it with intentional fouls.

Reliance on Physicality: Giannis thrives on his size, strength, and athleticism to dominate drives and finishes at the rim. If he faces physical defenses or loses a step as he ages, his effectiveness could dip unless he diversifies his game further.

Playmaking Limitations: While he’s a solid passer for a big man (career 5.0 assists per game), he’s not a primary ball-handler or elite playmaker like LeBron James or Nikola Jokić. His assist numbers often come from straightforward reads rather than complex orchestration.

Post Game Needs Refinement: Despite his size (6’11”), Giannis doesn’t have a polished low-post game with a variety of moves. He relies more on power and quickness than finesse or footwork in the paint.

Defensive Versatility Has Limits: He’s an elite defender—capable of guarding 1 through 5 in spurts and a former Defensive Player of the Year (2019-20)—but he’s not always lockdown against smaller, quicker guards or sharpshooting wings due to his size.

Predictable Drives: Giannis often attacks the basket with a head-down, euro-step-heavy style. Savvy defenses (e.g., the “Wall” strategy used by the Raptors in 2019) can clog the paint and force him to kick out or take tougher shots.

Injury Concerns: His aggressive, physical style has led to occasional injuries, like knee and ankle issues. While he’s generally durable, his long-term health could be a question as he enters his 30s (he turned 30 in December 2024).”

It is interesting how Grok also takes issue with a matter most choose to disregard when evaluating Giannis. And that is his massive performance drop off in high pressure situations. Here is what Grok says:

“Giannis Antetokounmpo’s playoff performance has been a mixed bag, and it’s a hot topic among fans and analysts. While he’s undeniably a regular-season juggernaut—two MVPs and a Defensive Player of the Year award—his postseason play has drawn criticism for not always matching that dominance. Let’s break it down based on how he’s performed and the recurring knocks against him in the playoffs.

One big critique is his efficiency—or lack thereof—when the stakes get higher. Take the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Celtics: Giannis put up monster stats (33.9 points, 14.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists per game), but his shooting splits were rough—49.1% from the field and 67.9% from the free-throw line. He became the first player to notch 200 points, 100 rebounds, and 50 assists in a single series, yet the Bucks lost in seven games. Critics point to his 45.7% field goal percentage in that series (down from his regular-season norm) and argue he was more of a volume scorer than an efficient one, especially with Khris Middleton sidelined.

Then there’s the free-throw issue. Giannis has never been a sharpshooter from the line, and it’s bitten him in the playoffs. In the 2023 first-round upset against the Heat, he shot 15-for-23 (65.2%) in the two games he played before a back injury knocked him out. Miami exploited this, and the Bucks crashed out as the No. 1 seed. His career playoff free-throw percentage sits at 66.2% (through 2023-24), compared to 70.2% in the regular season—small drop, big moments.

His style of play also gets exposed when teams build a “wall” to stop his drives. The 2019 Raptors famously used this tactic in the Eastern Conference Finals, holding Giannis to 41.5% shooting and 12.3 points per game in the final four games (all losses after a 2-0 lead). Similarly, the Heat in 2020 limited his impact, and Miami took that series 4-1. Defenses collapse on him, and without a reliable jumper—he’s at 27.6% from three in the playoffs career-wise—he can struggle to create space or punish teams from outside.

Injuries have also played a role, though not entirely his fault. He missed most of the 2023 Heat series with a bruised back and sat out the entire 2024 first-round loss to the Pacers with a calf strain. The Bucks went 0-5 in playoff games he’s played since May 11, 2022 (Game 5 vs. Boston), fueling the narrative that he’s faltering when it counts. Without him, Milwaukee actually won 3 of 8 in those stretches, which raises questions about team construction as much as his play.

So, does he play “badly” in the playoffs? When he’s off, it’s magnified—shooting dips, turnovers spike (4.0 per game career playoff average), and teams dare him to beat them from deep or the line. “

After more than a decade in the NBA, the AI makes valid points. Giannis once reached the ring and failed terribly every other year.

February 23, 2025
Giannis no longer defends and is no MVP for sure
Looking at his defensive rating it is clear that Giannis has given up trying in defence since he won DPOY. Every year he gets worse. (Lower is better for defensive rating.)

Other than racking up the easy defensive rebounds when nobody else is around….nada. It becomes clear when we look at any defensive metric which is multi factorial, for example the top 10 this season in Stable Rebounds/75 1. Kevon Looney 2. Isaiah Hartenstein 3. Steven Adams 4. Jonas Valanciunas 5. Andre Drummond 6. Ivica Zubac 7. Karl-Anthony Towns 8. Domantas Sabonis 9. Donovan Clingan 10. Walker Kessler.

Up there on the top right are the kings of defence. Rim protectors who also score well in D-Lebron (an all inclusive defence metric.) Giannis is nowhere, less steals, less blocks, less offensive rebounds, less everything. Here are the top in defensive rating this season, a good mix of various positions:

The Top 10 in Post Defense as per basketball index:
1. Domantas Sabonis
2. Jakob Poeltl
3. Wendell Carter Jr.
4. Nikola Vucevic
5. Deandre Ayton
6. Georges Niang
7. Jusuf Nurkic
8. Clint Capela
9. Trayce Jackson-Davis
10. Victor Wembanyama
And here is rim protection in the effective defensive percentage in relation to rim contests. Giannis has stopped almost everything in order to stat pad this season.

Next time some idiot starts shouting “MVP” when Giannis does something cool, maybe rethink it. He is now missing so many games he is out of that competition for this season and probably out of the scoring lead too.

DATA SOURCES NBA.COM STATMUSE.COM BBALLINDEX
February 12, 2025
Giannis: the king of travelling

Hey, the kid got to learning basketball fundamentals late. Not his fault. Once again this season he is No1 in most travel violations: (These are just the ones he gets called for.)

He has played five games less than Evan Mobley and many more minutes. If we factor in those we have this chart for Stable Travels/75

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo 2. Jalen Johnson 3. Evan Mobley 4. Coby White 5. Vasilije Micic 6. LaMelo Ball 7. Deni Avdija 8. Tyrese Maxey 9. Zach LaVine 10. Bobby Portis (Must be infectious then!)

But Giannis is king of many other negative stats too. Double dribbles, palming (when a player’s hand comes to rest underneath the ball and momentarily carries it instead of dribbling), offensive fouls (23 so far this season already!) and charges where he is also leading the league.

People like to pretend these are not important, but the totals tally up to an enormous number of wasted offences which don’t appear in other statistics. While you (and Giannis) are busy talking triple doubles and just points/rebounds/assists, you seem to forget that the purpose of playing is winning. Not just looking good in certain statistics.

Maybe look more often at advanced stats which measure more factors if you don’t understand ball, eh?

(Suprise! Giannis appears in none of them.)

Add on stat courtesy of Becky on Facebook, just saw it and it is relevant. Giannis last season had the 6th most goal tending violations. Given that his defensive stats are all down (especially compared to the others on this list) it is pretty worrying.

February 10, 2025
Is Giannis the worse 3point shooter in NBA history?
For starters, most people respond with “who cares if he can’t shoot the 3?” They could be correct, let’s look in more detail. Here are his career 3point percentages per season:

This should very much worry everybody. Not having a good shot could not be a major problem maybe. But getting worse every year needs further analysis. Combine this with the fact that he is shooting free throws worse than ever in his career and it is extremely worrying. Much like with that analysis, the only rational conclusion is that Giannis:
1. Is training for strength in some stupid way which affects his shooting a lot. (Here about the mid range myth.)
2. Hasn’t got the body IQ to figure out how to control his shooting motion.
3. Hasn’t got the business IQ to ask for help from people that know. (He famously refuses to train with other NBA stars in the summer.)
If Giannis keeps shooting like this season he will slot in for second worse 3point shooter in NBA history after all these people you have probably never heard of.

This isn’t even a fair comparison since Denis Johnson hardly played in the 3point era we are living. Yep, that’s right, this is “the 3point era” and Giannis thinks any team would want to trade for him when he is shooting 18%? In fact let’s look at that all time terrible 3points shooters list again and you will see that almost all of them shoot the free throw better than Giannis! And – more importantly – they had the intelligence not to attempt that many shots from 3.

Maybe this year is a fluke, let’s look at the entire last season. Oh, no, he is still terrible, one of the worse in the league, here they are ranked by worse 3point percentage:

So in a league that lives by the 3, Giannis should not even think about wasting a shot like that. And – worse still – the way he plays in the paint which some people admire, often ends up in free throws which he then misses. Maybe thirty years ago he could get away with it. In the modern NBA Giannis already looks like a relic. No, worse, a relic that has no idea how to improve.
February 4, 2025
Giannis can’t do clutch

In the Giannis fan boy world there is a 50point Finals performance that ends discussions. But in the NBA that’s not how it works. These are the top clutch performers this season when a game is 5 points difference or less for the last 5 minutes of the game.

For any Joker comparing Giannis to Jokic, yes, Jokic is at the top of this and here are Giannis pathetic stats for the same thing:

Giannis has half the points in clutch this season and with much, much, much worse percentages all across the board. He basically doesn’t know what to do under pressure. We have all seen him. He panics, it is pitiful. It used to be Khris saving him, now he just gives the ball to Dame all the time. Heck even Jaylen Brown has more clutch points and a much better plus minus (+46) than Giannis. (+19)

But we all know it is worse than just those numbers. Because Giannis makes terrible mistakes under pressure. We have seen it again and again. When the Bucks are behind or tied he is much worse. Here are the top this season:

Giannis is waaay down in the 3d page of results, 104th in the NBA when his team is behind or tied in the last five minutes. He simply can’t operate.

The numbers look even worse for Giannis when you filter for the last 1 minute of the games or the last 2 minutes. He knows he can’t think fast but still…everyone has made him think he can. Even though you can see it in his position and in his body language that he isn’t even sure what is going on.

Giannis started playing basketball late in life. He simply doesn’t have the automatic reflexes that the others do. He can’t even comprehend any advanced plays or adjust to the finer points of angles and timing. For those that want to compare him to Wemby (here more on that) here are all the players in Giannis’ position compared, Giannis is 39th and compares terribly to a rookie ten years younger than him in clutch situations!

Giannis has more assists because he is chicken shit in clutch. And all this even though he is on a superior team (pre Fox trade) that has more wins in such close games.

It is one more reason why most serious contenders don’t want Giannis. He is only good for regular season try harding. Maybe as Steph gets older he would want him in the regular season so he can rest. Then in games that matter bench him.

February 3, 2025
Is Giannis the King of the turnover?

Again, sit and think for a second about all the times someone has said “wow, Giannis is developing his court vision lately!” or “incredible pass by Giannis!” It is a lot like his 3point shot, a creature so rare that everybody is in a buzz. “What if he started being able to do that every time?”

Except he doesn’t. It’s like homeopathy claiming there is “new research coming soon” to prove it works. Yeah well it’s been several centuries without proof that homeopathy works. And eleven seasons of Giannis in the NBA making turnovers. And it’s getting worse, this year he is on track to break last season’s record.

Of course he leads the NBA in turnovers for his position.

Oh but that’s unfair. Let’s judge him in relation to the number of assists he makes, shall we? Here are the league leaders so far for this season.

And there is Giannis.

That is 1.69 if you don’t want to go looking for a calculator. But that isn’t even the start of Giannis problems with turnovers. 97th in the NBA this season. So why the hell is he holding the ball and bringing it down for the Bucks?

January 29, 2025
Will Giannis ever fix his free throws?
In short, no he wont. Here is more of a decade of data, his free throw percentage is actually getting worse.

Let’s think about this. There have been plenty bigs in the NBA that had trouble from the line. They usually were at a stable percentage or even got slightly better with time. Giannis is getting worse! This is extra impressive given that he shoots more than anyone in the league, every season Giannis is the worse. He misses the most.

Everybody knows Giannis tries hard. In eleven years in the NBA you pretty much know that multiple trainers, coaches and experts have been called in. Yet he is getting worse. Why? Here are potential reasons:
1. Wrong training regime. Not talking about free throw training, I mean Giannis is in the weights room focusing on brute strength. Because that is what you all cheer him on for. That is what gets him in the photos after the game. But that is not basketball, a game of finesse and balance.
2. Terrible shooting technique in general. Giannis started playing ball at a later age. Most of the things he does are not as fluent as other players that started younger. And he clearly lacks the body intelligence to adapt quickly to the necessary changes in small movements and muscle memory.
3. His hands are too big. This is actually a thing. Everyone admires his wingspan and enormous fingers. Great for palming the ball (in fact Giannis is high up in palming violations too) but not so great for a stable free throw.
4. Lack of social intelligence. In fact he brags about how he avoids training with other NBA super stars in the summer. As if it is a clever thing to do. But at the top level, they are the only ones that can make you better. Giannis obviously doesn’t know how to change up his personal development methods.
A great example is the whole thing with the ten second rule. Giannis is in clear violation of the rule very often. He ruins the flow of the game for everyone, he ruins the already low Bucks TV ratings, it is awkward and messy. So why has he never thought of shooting the damn ball faster when at the free throw?

Usually because he is exhausted! He has usually waited around the paint to get the easy defensive rebound. His team mates have cleared out to let him have it for his stat padding. Then he will run the floor. This – as anyone who has played ball knows – takes energy. When you have the ball you have to be ready to fend off opponents trying to get to the ball. Because Giannis has no dribbling skills he counters this by running fast. So he has made an explosion of energy to get down the court, then often got caught up in traffic, now stuck in traffic. Which is an even more tiring high stress situation for any player. So if he gets to the free throw it is because he found some more energy to push his way to the rim. Of course he needs ten seconds to recover!

So this season so far, in the Bucks easier half of the games, Giannis has already missed almost three times more free throws than anyone else. That is 1700 seconds of wasted TV time, boring down time hurting the TV ratings and making the game worse.

More than a decade in the NBA and shooting worse than ever. Giannis, whatever you are doing, it ain’t working and it won’t work. You are not the worse in NBA history (yet) but you are fast coming up to be the worse in NBA history that has shot so many. And despite what some fans think, a solo run to the rim that ends up in a foul when you miss the free throws is a very, very bad play for your team.

(Here you can read about his other great source of wasted offensive efforts – Giannis is the king of violations.)
January 29, 2025
Giannis mid range myth – part 2 (comparisons)

Giannis in the paint is legendary, right? He sure takes more than anyone else in the ‘less than 5ft’ charts. There he is , first in most field goals made at less than 5ft by an enormous margin, he takes almost double the shots of anyone else in the league. 13.2 attempted, 9.4 made. If you think about it from the analytics perspective it is often a wasted effort, particularly since he misses the free throws earned like this so much. (Part 1 of this analysis here.)

In red players more efficient than him. Yeah, yeah, no big thing, right? Let’s look at the next distance, as per nba. com categories of distances. This is a ‘mid range’ shot. Right, right, Giannis has no floater….and no sky hook. Oh and he is also nowhere in the top 20:

Well let’s move out a bit more then. A very mid range shot 10-14 feet from the rim. No Giannis again.

Oh but here we are! 15-19 feet distance. Of all the ‘mid range’ distances we could be talking about, for some reason Giannis media hype just look at this. OK, let’s look, yep, he is 2nd in most made. At pretty mediocre efficiency though. In red all the players above him at the top for this season so far.

And in green above his total. A pathetic 1.6 shots. That’s 3.2 points per game. Is that worth all the fuss? Hell no, especially since as I explained here, Giannis forgets his mid range against harder defences or in the playoffs. Remember we are sorting by field goals made at that distance in order for Giannis to be No2 in the rankings. If we sort by field goal percentage at that same distance he is waaaaay down somewhere in the third page of results.

And of course he is non existent in the next mid range distance, 20-24 feet.

Giannis is also one of the worse 3point shooters in the history of the NBA (more on that here), so let’s not even go there. So where did this myth come from? Nba. com has a ‘mid range’ category elsewhere but doesn’t say what exactly they are measuring, let’s take a look.

In red all the players with high field goals made numbers with better FG% than Giannis. Almost everybody. And remember, this is Giannis in the easy first half of the season, Bucks now have the 4th hardest schedule left in their season, so expect Giannis to fall to stats similar to last year. Which is nowhere near an ‘impressive’ mid range.

STATS USED

NBA. COM

January 28, 2025
Giannis’ mid range myth part 1

Again today, in an easy match up which the Bucks won easily and Giannis had no opponent, people started talking about his mid range. It sure looked good when it went in, eh? Let’s look at the facts. (Part 2 of this here)

Against the Jazz with no Hendricks , Juzang , Cody Williams , John Collins or Walker Kessler the Bucks were basically playing around as if in their gym. Even so, I would say the picture isn’t looking good. He missed three shots next to the rim. (In the orange circle I added.) And he scored 4/6 in the ‘mid range’. Oh and he wasted a 3point attempt.

Because Giannis has no mid range. It is clear when he is actually being defended by someone. Even without Porzingis, on the 4th of December 2024 this is a more realistic look at Giannis’ mid range.

He isn’t even scoring them so well right next to the rim against shorter opponents. And just 3/8 from the ‘mid’ range. And of course the wasted 3point shot as usual. And here is Giannis against the Knicks January 12th 2024. Even worse!

This data is pretty solid. Here is the shot chart for Giannis over his career. He clearly has specific positions and can’t do anything with his left hand.

And here is playoff Giannis. Which isn’t even counting tough matchups seeing as he has only progressed in the playoffs twice in his many years in the NBA.

In the playoffs he is pretty much a one trick pony and head on down the middle. Why is this a problem? Because I am not the only one looking at this shot charts. Opponents know how to neutralise him. And they do when it counts.

So save me the talk about “Giannis mid range” becoming a threat to the league. The only thing it threatens is to further confuse the Bucks into incorrect decisions on how they should play as a team. A weapon is only a weapon when it is consistent when you need it. Not in trash time against easy teams.

DATA SOURCE

STATMUSE. COM

January 28, 2025
Giannis plays a lot on his own: is it effective?

So I saw this today

As usual with BBall Index there is no explanation how the hell they figured all this out. So I look at NBA. com instead and sort Isolation plays by possession.

Nothing new, we knew that Giannis handles the ball too much. More than any other player on the Bucks which is crazy considering he isn’t a guard. Giannis handles the ball all the time, not just ISO, but because he is looking for an easy run and dunk he aims for an ISO play. Which is stupid because it wont work in tougher games.

In isolation plays he is 8th out of ten this season so far and clearly nowhere near as efficient as the others in this ranking. So I guess BBall index is as usual just click baiting with weird stats they made up themselves. Because if I take the whole season last year Giannis looks much better.

18th in possessions. Much less of a ball hog, much less ISO. Sure the Bucks have played the easier part of their season so far. But it is not a good look when Giannis is heading for the ISO, not being as effective and missing free throws. (The only stat he aced last year was the number of free throws he got out of ISO plays. But then he missed them more than anyone in the league again.)

This was his shot chart last season, a sad constant need to dunk. Distance mostly less than 80cm from the rim. No wonder I wrote that the Bucks will never win anything with him playing like that!

January 28, 2025