Giannis Antetokounmpo
We are now leaving the 2015 draft class for the first time and heading back to the 2013 class. Suns fans remember this one as a pretty big disappointment, but they aren’t the only ones. The top five picks that year were Anthony Bennett, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Cody Zeller, and Alex Len. Bennett has made a good case for the biggest bust in NBA history, while none of the others have really lived up to the spot they were picked at. In fact, no lottery selection in this draft has made an All-Star team.
That’s where Giannis Antetokounmpo comes in. He was drafted 15th overall as a young prospect with boom or bust type potential, and he has boomed. He started off relatively slow his rookie season, but he has progressed rapidly into a dominant player. At only 22-years-old, “The Greek Freak” had a breakout season in 2016-17. He won the Most Improved Player award while becoming an All-Star and getting named to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team and All-NBA Second Team.
They call him “The Greek Freak” because Giannis truly is a freak of nature. At 6’11”, he moves like a guard. In fact, he has even spent time playing the point guard position. This last season, Antetokounmpo became the “first player in NBA history to finish in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a single year.” He’s basically a triple-double threat every night who can also play incredible defense.
I don’t know if the term “point forward” adequately applies to Antetokounmpo. It seems like his position is more like “do everything on the court.” And at only 22, he still has plenty of room to grow, which is scary. Oh, and he might be looking for a way out of Milwaukee in a couple seasons. If he does end up wanting to leave, and the Suns showed interest, they’d probably try to get him without giving up Booker. But, if we had to give up Booker, I’d probably grudgingly do it.