Ranking Giannis Antetokounmpo's Top 5 NBA seasons based on free-throw percentage
Giannis Antetokounmpo put up 27 points in 27 minutes last night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, on the night of his 27th birthday. The reigning NBA Finals MVP has looked unstoppable, with the Milwaukee Bucks at full strength in the 2021-22 NBA campaign.
Despite having an extraordinary resume and proving to be one of the most dominant players ever, Giannis Antetokounmpo's skills have been criticized before, especially before winning the 2021 NBA championship.
Of course, free-throw shooting has been a topic of heavy discussion regarding Antetokounmpo's ability, especially in clutch situations. However, the Greek superstar has never shied away from the free-throw line and is always confident to attack the paint regardless of the chance of getting fouled and put in the FT line.
Most made free throws ever in a close-out game in NBA Finals history:
17: Giannis Antetokounmpo (17-of-19)
16: Dwyane Wade - Game 6, 2006 (16-of-21)
15: Elgin Baylor - Game 7, 1962 (15-of-21)
14: Magic Johnson - Game 6, 1980 (14-of-14)
14: Jerry West - Game 7, 1962 (14-of-18) twitter.com/DragonflyJonez…
Giannis Antetokounmpo's free-throw shooting has been good over his entire NBA career, as he has a 71.5 career percentage. However, he's made 66.1% of his free throws over the last three NBA regular seasons.
Still, the two-time NBA MVP and one-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner has led the league in free-throw attempts over the last two campaigns (is currently leading the NBA), proving that he will continue to put pressure on opposing defenders inside.
Five of Giannis Antetokounmpo's previous eight full NBA seasons have finished with the Greek superstar shooting over 70% from the free-throw line. Famously, he made 17 of his 19 attempts from the free-throw line in the most important game of his career so far, when he scored 50 points in Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals to lead the Bucks to the NBA title.
Without further ado, let's take a look at those five NBA seasons and how Giannis Antetokounmpo looked from the free-throw mark.
#5 2015-16 NBA season | 72.4%
In his third NBA season, Giannis Antetokounmpo was continuously showing improvement in his basketball skills and developing as a physical force in the NBA.
The Greek Freak had a solid regular season for the Milwaukee Bucks as a third-year talent, averaging 16.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
He appeared in 80 games (79 starts) and made 50.6% of his field goals (12.7 attempts per game) and 296 of his 409 attempts from the free-throw line during the 2015-16 campaign.
#4 2018-19 NBA season | 72.9%
On his way to winning the NBA Most Valuable Player award for the first time in his career, Giannis Antetokounmpo had a dominant 2018-19 regular season for the Milwaukee Bucks.
He put up 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game (72 appearances).
Antetokounmpo posted the highest field-goal percentage of his career so far, with 57.8%. He converted 500 of his 686 attempts (second-most in the league that year) from the free-throw line, for a 72.9% clip for the entire campaign.