Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Leads NBA in Surprising Stat This Season

The eight-time All-NBA honoree is having a great year. His team is not.

Dec 4, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives against Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) in the first half at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Eight-time All-NBA Milwaukee Bucks superstar power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is a one-man fastbreak.

That's been true for a while, and has remained true this season via the ol' eye test, but now, it turns out it is also, metrically, a reality.

The 6-foot-11 big man, who leads the league in scoring at 32.6 points per game, also leads the league in fastbreak scoring by a significant margin. Per NBA.com, the 29-year-old is averaging a whopping 6.1 fastbreak points a game, far outpacing Toronto Raptors small forward RJ Barrett and Phoenix Suns All-Star forward Kevin Durant, both of whom are averaging 5.4 fastbreak points a night, though Barrett slots in with the second-most fastbreak points and Durant is third.

L.A. Clippers shooting guard Norman Powell, a prime contender for Most Improved Player honors this season, is averaging 4.6 fastbreak points a night, the fourth-most in the league. Denver Nuggets shooting guard Christian Braun wraps up the top five, also with 4.6 fastbreak points a night.

Obviously, these averages are rounded off to the first decimal point, so Barrett's tally must be a bit ahead of Durant, while Powell's must be somewhat better than Braun's.

Antetokounmpo's MVP-caliber play this season almost singlehandedly kept his Bucks afloat, before some tactical Doc Rivers roster reconfigurations helped the rest of Milwaukee catch up. The two-time league MVP is notching his 32.6 points per game on a fairly efficient 61.6 percent shooting from the field (mostly around the rim, which he can reach in mere seconds from the half-court) and a career-worst 61.1 percent shooting from the charity stripe. He's also averaging 11.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 0.5 steals per bout.

Milwaukee is currently a middling 11-10 on the year, good for the fifth-best tally in the Eastern Conference — though that record is a vast improvement over its brutal 2-8 season start. The club's scoring and defense are fairly middle-of-the-line. Milwaukee is averaging 113.6 points per game, good for 13th in the league, and allowing 112.5 opponent points per game, which ranks merely 15th.

Ultimately, the former Defensive Player of the Year's individual two-way production is not the issue for the Bucks. The club needs more scoring and more wing defense.

Happily, Milwaukee will be bringing back someone who can help in both those departments — former three-time All-Star small forward Khris Middleton, who is set to make his season debut on Friday against the Boston Celtics.

Read More: Milwaukee All-Star Khris Middleton to Make His Return Friday vs Celtics

Middleton underwent offseason surgery on both his ankles. Across 55 healthy games last year, Middleton averaged 15.1 points on .493/.381/.833 shooting splits, 5.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.9 steals a night. His replacement in the start lineup this year, 3-and-D vet Taurean Prince, is having a remarkably efficient shooting start, but he's not nearly as much of a scoring priority in Milwaukee's offense as Middleton will be, and has struggled defending small wings.

Prince is averaging 9.0 points on .508/.556/.846 shooting splits, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists a night.

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