5 bold predictions for Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of 2023-24 NBA season
Giannis Antetokounmpo is preparing for Year 11 in the NBA and has his sights set on bringing the Milwaukee Bucks back to the top. The "Greek Freak" is coming off arthroscopic surgery to his knee in late June and the longest offseason of his career, as he skipped the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The two-time NBA MVP will join the Bucks' training camp in a few days and he has made his intentions clear to the organization. Antetokounmpo aims at nothing but the title and wants everyone in the organization to be on the same page. This winning mentality will determine his future with the team.
Milwaukee enters a new era with the departure of coach Mike Budenholzer and the arrival of Adrian Griffin. Giannis Antetokounmpo hopes this change will bring the franchise back to the top.
With that in mind, we take a look at five bold predictions for the "Greek Freak" heading into the 2023-24 season.
5 bold predictions for Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2023-24 season
#1, Win scoring champion title
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the reference point of the Bucks' offense. When he is on the floor, all plays run by him and he takes the majority of shot attempts. Thus, it doesn't come as a surprise that his scoring averages are near or surpass the 30.0 ppg.
Last season, he averaged 31.1 ppg, while a year later he posted 29.9 ppg, so we should expect similar scoring averages this year. Also, Antetokounmpo has never won the scoring champion title, so he could have extra motivation to add another individual award to his career.
Last year, he was fifth in scoring behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexader, Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid, who claimed the award with an average of 33.1 ppg.
#2, Win DPOY
Giannis Antetokounmpo has done this before (2020), so it wouldn't come as a surprise if he wins it again this year. Even though Antetokounmpo is not the best defender in the league when it comes to one-on-one situations, he is elite in help defense and close-out situations. This adds another dimension to the Bucks' defense.
The "Greek Freak" had a defensive rating of 107.7 last year and is expected to face some tough competition. Most notably from three-time DPOY Rudy Gobert and reigning DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr., but we should expect Antetokounmpo to be among the top five candidates to win the award.
#3, Win MVP
This is more likely to happen than claiming the DPOY award again. Especially if Giannis Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee to the best record in the league, as he did last year (58-24). Antetokounmpo was third in the MVP race, behind Nikola Jokic and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.
Based on the past few years, this trio should fight for the MVP award in the 2023-24 season with Luka Doncic also in the mix. Last year, Giannis had averages of 31.1 ppg, 11.8 rpg and 5.7 apg, shooting 55.3 from the field.
#4, Sign a supermax extension
Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the third of the five-year supermax contract he signed with the Bucks in 2020. He is now eligible to sign another supermax contract with the franchise, which would likely keep him in Milwaukee for the rest of his career.
On Friday, September 22, he became eligible to sign a three-year, $169 million extension and has a month to sign it (October 23, 2023). It is not likely he will sign it, though, as he recently said he wanted to see whether this year will be successful for the Bucks.
The most likely scenario is for him to wait until next summer and decide whether he will sign a much more lucrative extension for four years and $234 million.
#5, Play 82 games
We should consider this the biggest challenge of Giannis Antetokounmpo's NBA career. Ever since he joined the league back in 2013, he has never played in all 82 games. He played 81 in 2014-15 and 80 in consecutive seasons (2015-17).
Since then, he regularly misses games to rest, with 61 being the lowest in the 2020-21 season. Last year, he appeared in 63 games. Given that he has recovered from knee surgery and had a five-month offseason to rest, it wouldn't come as a surprise if Antetokounmpo played every game this year.