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Despite having a brilliant season so far, Giannis Antetokounmpo is far from certain to be a first-time All-Star this year.
There’s no doubt that Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks is making the transition from rising star to legitimate elite-level player.
He’s doing so by playing all five positions on the court and posting some deliciously wacky box scores in the process.
In his fourth year in the league, he has grown into Milwaukee’s go-to guy and is even being mentioned in the early-season MVP conversation.
His numbers are up across the board and without him the Bucks would be far worse than their current 12-12 record.
It may be too early to think about then, but surely Giannis is in line to make his first All-Star appearance later on this season?
It seems a given, but there are actually a number of reasons why that may not be the case.
Before examining what they are however, we need to take a closer look at what Antetokounmpo is doing, so we can fully appreciate all that he brings to the Bucks.
Dec 15, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) looks for a shot against Chicago Bulls forward Cristiano Felicio (6) in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Season averages of 22.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists are all easily career highs. His effective field goal percentage of 54.0 is also the best mark of his career to date too.
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He accounts for 28.9 percent of all assists for his team when he’s on the court (A cool quirk on basketball-reference.com has Giannis listed at three different positions over the first four years of his career as well).
Impressive and unique as all of that is, it’s when you stack some of those numbers up against the rest of the league that we can truly see the impact he’s having on the NBA.
He is averaging two blocks and two steals per game, numbers which put him fifth in the league in both categories.
His Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 26.31 puts him 10th in the league, ahead of illustrious names such as Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and John Wall.
It is also just behind LeBron James (26.38). Clearly then Giannis is posting elite numbers, even if he’s not quite thought of in that respect just yet.
Why then is there a chance that he may not make the All-Star team this season? Given the numbers outlined above, Giannis has as strong a case as anybody.
Since last season's All-Star break, Russell Westbrook leads the NBA in triple-doubles (21).
Second? Giannis Antetokounmpo (7). pic.twitter.com/itM73SkWfP
— ESPN (@espn) December 8, 2016
It begins with setting. Unfortunately the Milwaukee Bucks, while also not being a big-market team, just aren’t that cool.
Make no mistake, that sounds ridiculous and to hardcore basketball fans it is. But the vast majority of NBA fans are of the casual variety.
The All-Star Game is the one time of year they have real power in deciding who will start for each conference. So it becomes a popularity contest.
Even casual fans have to know who Antetokounmpo is at this stage, but playing for a team around .500 in a smaller market, it does lead to him being less known than his skills deserve.
Only 18 players have ever represented the Bucks at an All-Star Game and they haven’t had a player in the marquee exhibition since Michael Redd in 2004.
So while he is doing things that few other players in the league are right now (except for Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis, who are dominant in their own ways), that still may not be enough.
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It is interesting to compare his numbers and where he is at in his career with previous players on the verge of breaking through, to see if he is deserving of a place in the game.
Paul George was only slightly older than Giannis during his fourth season (George was 23, Giannis is 22 now) and he had already been an All-Star the year before.
He repeated that feat again and did so with lower numbers than Giannis in points (21.7), rebounds (6.8), assists (3.5), effective field goal percentage (49) and PER (20.1).
We use George as a comparison, as he too plays for a smaller-market team (Indiana Pacers), although at that time they were enjoying some postseason success.
The two are also exciting players in different ways as well, with George being more of an athletic and flashy player and Antetokounmpo being an all-around performer.
If George made the All-Star team that year, then there really is no reason why Giannis can’t this season.
But George had more marketability, which gave him the edge in the aforementioned popularity contest that the All-Star Game is.
Being American likely helped, as does the fact that his name is easily pronounced. Through advertisements like the one below, George was more recognizable then than Giannis is now.
Another factor that Antetokounmpo will have to contend with is the fact that big-name players will get in on reputation alone, regardless of their current form.
It’s the reason Kobe Bryant played in the game (when healthy) in his last few seasons, despite his output strongly suggesting that he should not.
The same case could be made against Carmelo Anthony being there in 2015 as a starter (although the game was in New York, so he was always going to be picked) and Rajon Rondo in 2013.
If we consider the best/most popular players in the Eastern Conference, it would look something like this.
That’s a lot of players, and depending on opinion there are some likely missing as well. Giannis falls under top player and performing well.
As you can see there’s a lot of competition for places, and that is the final obstacle he must get through to make the game, being snubbed.
There are snubs every season (Lillard even referenced it happening to him last year in his song “They Sleep”) and given that Giannis is young and will have plenty more opportunities, this may happen to him.
Ultimately you might think it’s irrelevant anyway, that Giannis Antetokounmpo is destined for big things and multiple All-Star berths.
But if he continues playing as he has so far this season, there’s no question he should be there. Actually suiting up is another story.
