Giannis Antetokounmpo has been on a tear, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals and throwing out his MVP case against Boston. We take a look at how Giannis is making it work for himself and Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the Milwaukee Bucks’ superstar. Giannis has been on a tear lately, and he’s been able to dominate games with his scoring ability. Read more in detail here: bucks giannis.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has already won a slew of NBA awards during his time with the Milwaukee Bucks. Even though he’s just 27, he’s already a two-time MVP, the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year, a one-time champion and Finals MVP, and a member of the 75th Anniversary Team.
He certainly seems to be focused on climbing the NBA player power rankings and expanding his collection. At the conclusion of the regular season, he’ll be named to his sixth All-NBA team, has his Bucks in position to defend their Larry O’Brien Trophy, and is a front-runner for both MVP and DPOY. Again.
Of course, he isn’t the only noteworthy player who has performed well in recent weeks, nor is he the only one who has climbed since our March 31 player power rankings.
We’re moving to rolling player ratings, which employ game score and schedule changes to analyze how each player has done during his previous 10 games, using data supplied by NBA Math. The greater the number, the better the performance, and it’s scaled such that the results are equivalent to the scale used to evaluate the scoring outputs.
To be considered for our top-25 ranking, players must have played at least once in the previous week.
Jimmy Butler, LaMelo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Ingram, and Jordan Poole (Nos. 25-21)
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Jimmy Butler (18.99) of the Miami Heat is ranked 25th (No change)
Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball (#24): 19.12 (Previous ranking: No. 15)
DeMar DeRozan (19.32) of the Chicago Bulls is number 23. (Previous ranking: Unranked)
New Orleans Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram (22nd): 19.25 (Previous ranking: No. 23)
Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors is ranked 21st with 19.37 points (Previous ranking: No. 16)
Remember when DeMar DeRozan nailed game-winning shots after game-winning shots, piled up 30-point games, and was a leading contender for the NBA MVP award in 2021-22? Due to both individual and team-wide regression for the Chicago Bulls, he’s now dropped out of the conversation, but he’s still capable of putting up some great performances.
DeRozan finished March with 50 points, five rebounds, and six assists on 17-of-26 shooting from the field, a 2-of-2 performance from beyond the arc, and a 14-of-15 performance at the line against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Everything we’ve come to expect from this talented scorer was there, but it was elevated to the next level. When he wasn’t utilizing his agility to attack the basket, he continued to cause damage from inside the arc, peppering the Clippers defense with mid-range shots. Although DeRozan’s shooting profile is anathema to the current NBA, it continues to work for this very talented winger.
Zach LaVine, Miles Bridges, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Darius Garland are the Nos. 20-16.
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Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls is ranked 20th with 19.5 points (No change)
Bridges, Miles (19.54), Charlotte Hornets (19.54). (Previous ranking: No. 13)
Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell (#18): 19.96 (Previous ranking: No. 22)
James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets is ranked 17th in the NBA with a score of 20.16. (No change)
16. Cleveland Cavaliers’ Darius Garland: 20.2 (Previous ranking: No. 14)
Darius Garland is no longer exaggerating when he says he’s one of the finest passers in the NBA. In reality, the number of excellent distributors can probably be counted on one hand. That’s how excellent he’s become.
Garland is averaging 8.6 assists per game, which puts him behind Luka Doncic, Dejounte Murray, Trae Young, James Harden, and Chris Paul on the list, but the raw stats undersell him, since he’s helped the Cleveland Cavaliers have a surprisingly successful season despite their many ailments. In addition, he’s just getting better, with 10.5 assists and only 2.8 turnovers per game in his previous ten games.
His uncanny vision enables him to pass people open in a manner that makes their life simpler, and he ranks fourth in secondary assists and sixth in potential assists. There’s a reason Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen have racked up so many easy baskets this season.
Cleveland has shot 46.9% from the field this season, eliminating Garland. That figure jumps to 54.9 percent after his passes.
Pascal Siakam, Jaylen Brown, Karl-Anthony Towns, Dejounte Murray, and Anthony Davis are the Nos. 15-11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5C4ijZX Yo
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15. Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam (20.24) (Previous ranking: No. 12)
Jaylen Brown (20.44) of the Boston Celtics is the 14th best player in the NBA (Previous ranking: Unranked)
Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns (13.29) (Previous ranking: No. 18)
San Antonio Spurs’ Dejounte Murray (#12): 21.97 (Previous ranking: No. 11)
Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis (#11): 22.32 (Previous ranking: Unranked)
When the Boston Celtics are at full strength, they have one of the league’s greatest defenses, and that will be the case again if and when Robert Williams III recovers from left knee surgery and rejoins Marcus Smart and the rest of the team’s dynamic stoppers. Jayson Tatum, who is continuing having a fantastic second half, is their go-to scorer and MVP contender.
When Jaylen Brown is on fire, though, they’re more more dangerous on offense, capable of overpowering most opponents with main scoring from various angles.
In his previous ten games, Brown has averaged 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while slashing 55.1/47.5/81.3. With him on the court, the C’s have outscored opponents by an incredible 10.3 points per game in that span, and he’s scored at least 25 points in nine consecutive games.
Rest of the Eastern Conference, good luck slowing down that scorching Brown-Tatum combination.
Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Luka Donic, Devin Booker, and Trae Young are the players ranked 10-6.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zA LoPvpfM
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Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving (10th): 22.43 (Previous ranking: No. 7)
9. Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum: 22.47 (Previous ranking: No. 8)
8. Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic: 23.31 (Previous ranking: No. 10)
Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker (7th): 24.11 (Previous ranking: No. 9)
Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks is ranked sixth in the NBA with 25.1 points per game (Previous ranking: No. 5)
Luka Doncic has been good throughout the previous ten games — notice his No. 8 ranking — but he’s ascended to an even higher level in his last five appearances.
The Slovenian superstar has averaged 33.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 10.2 assists while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 41.9 percent from downtown, and 84.1 percent from the line for the Dallas Mavericks, who have maintained their grip on the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference despite a surprising loss to the Washington Wizards. Despite channeling his inner Atlas to carry the Mavs all by himself, he’s only turning the ball over 3.6 times per game, and his defensive intensity has creeped up throughout the season’s final run.
Doncic won’t be able to break into the three-headed MVP race, but he’s definitely established himself as one of those classic “you don’t want to play against him in any playoff series” contenders. He’s capable of winning any game by himself, and he’s done it on many occasions.
LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic are the Nos. 5-1.
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Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (5th): 26.11 (Previous ranking: No. 2)
4. Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant (26.28) (Previous ranking: No. 4)
3. Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid: 27.22 (Previous ranking: No. 6)
2. Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo: 29.09 (Previous ranking: No. 3)
1. Nikola Jokic (30.59) of the Denver Nuggets (Previous ranking: No. 1)
It’s difficult to imagine a better two-game run than Giannis Antetokounmpo’s last two games of March versus the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.
The first was a 40-point, 14-rebound, six-assist performance against the Sixers, in which Giannis scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and came up big by pinning a Joel Embiid put-back attempt to the backboard in the final second of the game, which required a replay review to ensure he didn’t goaltend. He followed it up with a 44-point, 14-rebound, six-assist performance in a one-point overtime win against the Nets, overtaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become Milwaukee’s all-time leading scorer.
Antetokounmpo is one of just five players in NBA history to win both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year at the same time, including Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Kevin Garnett. This year, he has a chance to increase his totals to three and two, making him the first player in league history to have numerous dalliances with both main trophies.
Unless otherwise stated, all stats are courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA Math and are current as of April 5.
RELATED: Nikola Jokic Is Earning MVP Praise, But His Denver Nuggets Are Criminally Underappreciated
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