NBA Season Preview 2017-18: There’s no stopping Antetokounmpo in transition

Despite not having a reliable jump shot, Giannis Antetokounmpo has established himself as one of the most dominant players in the NBA. Being able to spot-up on the perimeter and drain pull-ups from midrange at a respectable rate would certainly make him a more dynamic offensive player, but Antetokounmpo has figured out to overcome his only real weakness to break down the league’s best defenses.

Perhaps the most pronounced way Antetokounmpo makes up for his lack of shooting is by getting out in transition. It’s where 21.7 percent of his points came from last season, according to NBA.com, which put him near the top of the league in terms of scoring frequency. He was also amongst the league leaders in efficiency, ranking in the 81.9 percentile with an average of 1.28 points per possession in transition.

Those aren’t the only numbers that show how dominant Antetokounmpo is in those situations. As you can see in the table below, he was one of only six players to average at least 6.0 points per game in transition last season. Other than Kevin Durant, who became an even more dominant transition scorer alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Antetokounmpo capitalized on those opportunities at a higher rate than everyone else from that exclusive group.

Antetokounmpo had practically everyone — including LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and John Wall — beat when it came to drawing shooting fouls as well. His and one frequency even stood at a LeBron-like 5.2 percent last season.

It’s no surprise teams don’t have an answer for Antetokounmpo when he gets a full head of steam. He has the height and length of a center at 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot wingspan in addition to the speed and agility of a guard. Throw in the ability to grab his own rebound to initiate his own fastbreak rather than having to wait for an outlet, and it forces the defense to take account of where he is as soon as a shot goes up.

If they don’t, he’ll weave his way around defenders until he spots an opening towards the basket for a layup or dunk like he does against the Nets on this possession:

Antetokounmpo took his final dribble behind the 3-point line. He then used a gather step, followed by a euro-step before finishing at the rim. The amount of ground he covered while staying under control at his size is simply remarkable.

He pulls a similar move here to take advantage of Solomon Hill and Buddy Hield being the only defenders standing between him and the rim. Once again, pay attention to where he takes off from and how easily he snakes his way around multiple defenders.

The combination of size and speed puts Antetokounmpo in a unique position. Like James, he’s far too long and strong for guards to have any hope of slowing him down. Big men have no hope, either, because very few of them have the physical tools to prevent him from getting to his spot following a missed shot. With his size and length, Antetokounmpo can shoot and finish over a lot of centers anyway.

Antetokounmpo doesn’t even turn the ball over much in transition. His turnover frequency last season stood at 13.3 percent, which was lower than Westbrook (22.4 percent), James (18.7 percent), Wall (14.3 percent), Stephen Curry (14.0 percent) and Kyrie Irving (12.9 percent). That basically means he is an efficient volume scorer in transition who draws fouls at an incredibly high rate and rarely turns the ball over.

That doesn’t take into account the open shots Antetokounmpo’s teammates get when he draws multiple defenders in the paint and sets off a chain reaction. If he wasn’t both a capable and willing passer, he’d be much easier to slow down.

Antetokounmpo’s dominance in transition isn’t anything new. He was one of the league leaders in transition scoring in 2015-16 when he ranked in the 77.3 percentile with 1.22 points per possession. The difference is his numbers improved significantly across the board in 2016-17 rather than declining or remaining stagnant as his usage rating jumped from 22.3 percent to 28.3 percent.

Next: Will Giannis ever develop a reliable jump shot?

It’s hard to believe he can do the same again, but it certainly wouldn’t be the first time. Maybe his turnover rate decreases slightly and he takes a step closer to being in the 90th percentile with the likes of Durant and Jimmy Butler this season. Not that it’s necessary, of course, because he’s already unstoppable in those situations.