NBA Season Preview 2017-18: 20 things to watch this NBA season

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 12: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors shoots a foul shot against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Five of the 2017 NBA Finals on June 12, 2017 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Bruce Yeung/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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MILWAUKEE, WI – APRIL 27: Giannis Antetokounmpo /

8. Giannis Antetokounmpo, MVP?

The Milwaukee Bucks’ decision to install Giannis Antetokounmpo as their full-time ball-handler was a smashing success in 2016-17. The Greek Freak set new career highs across the board—22.9 points on 52.1 percent shooting, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals in 35.6 minutes per night—and earned second-team All-Defensive and All-NBA nods for his stellar two-way efforts.

The Greek Freak may need to shoulder even more of a load this year, as Jabari Parker will likely miss half the season as he recovers from his the ACL tear he suffered last February. Milwaukee will have a fully healthy Khris Middleton back in the fold after he missed much of last year with a hamstring injury, but the team lacks established, consistent scorers aside from him and Antetokounmpo.

The 22-year-old Greece native has drastically increased his output over each of his four NBA seasons, which begs the question of what he has in store for 2017-18. Can he rival the statistically dominant campaigns of Harden and Westbrook from a year ago? Will he carry Milwaukee to a top-four seed in the East playoffs? Might he work his way into MVP contention?

Adjust your League Pass schedules accordingly to find out.

Next: 7. Myles Turner, unicorn in hiding