NBA Legend and analyst Charles Barkley doesn’t think highly of the Milwaukee Bucks and their superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, per Bill Simmons. 

“I’m not interested in Milwaukee at all… I’m not a Milwaukee guy… I think Giannis has to get better as a basketball player, you can’t just go up and down the court and play 1 v. 5 every time,” said Barkley. 

Barkley has a point, but it’s definitely a weak one. Giannis is definitely not a shooter, only shooting 65% from the line, and 27% from beyond the arc. But he doesn’t need to, with his strength and frame he gets to the rim and makes over 60% of his shots, and averaged 30 points a game. He also got two MVPS, won a NBA Finals, and got the Finals MVP doing that. 

Giannis is also surrounded by shooters in Damian Lillard, Brook Lopez, and Khris Middleton, so while he draws players in those 1v5s, he can just chuck it out to a shooter for an open three. What’s funny about that is Giannis had his best playmaking season this past one, averaging a career-high six and a half assists a game. 

So is Barkley right? Does Giannis need to get better? Maybe at shooting, but he doesn’t really need to. As long as he has shooters on his team, they will be playoff contenders.

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