You never write a story about player stats after only three games.
Unless the guy whom you thought had a chance to, oh, be the best player in franchise history since Kareem is putting up numbers which are, well, maybe, the best in franchise history since Kareem.
The Bucks face the Pelicans in Game 4 tonight, which is a good reminder (and warning) that you need a full team to orbit in symphony with a star. Through three games, Anthony Davis is averaging 37.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 3.0 blocks… and the Pelicans are 0-3. Meanwhile, the Bucks are 1-2.
Two seasons ago, Giannis (29 points) and Davis (43 points) took star turns in their Milwaukee matchup. Now they are both merely six points off from averaging that many, respectively. Tonight, we will probably dream about how they would look on the same team, and as humans, they just might dream that, too...
23.0 / 9.3 / 5.3
Giannis has not been flawless. The point of this story is not to make it seem so. But that is just the thing: The best part about Giannis averaging 23.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists over his first three games is how very normal it looks. Rather than a hot streak, this feels like a representative three-game approximation of who he is now, which is to say, a star.
2.7
Prior to this season, the most passes Giannis received from a single player in any season was 7.8 per game from Michael Carter-Williams last year. So far this season, he is receiving 24.7 passes per game from Matthew Dellavedova. Yes: Dellavedova and others have often functioned as the bring-the-ball-up-the-floor point guard, while Giannis, at least to the eye, has not played as much true point on offense as he did for large swaths of the second half of last season. His assists per game (5.3) are up from last season, but down from the second half of last season. Yet he ranks second in the NBA (tied with Draymond Green) with 2.7 secondary assists (or, hockey assists) per game, which testifies nicely in support of his useful ball movement. Last season, Steph Curry led the league with 2.5 per game.
25.6
Giannis has a PER of 25.6. No player in franchise history since Kareem has posted a PER of 25.6. Current announcer (and a very good one, at that) and former player (and a very good one, at that) Marques Johnson notched the best non-Kareem season per this stat, a 23.9 PER in 1978-79.
84.6 percent
This is (again) where a small sample size can get you in trouble, but starting the season 11-for-13 (.846) from the free throw line is better than not starting the season 11-for-13 (.846) from the line. Free throw attempts per game are down some (from 5.1 per game last season to 4.3 per game this season), but he is making just as many, thanks to the increased accuracy. If he can hover in the low 80s, and pick up the attempts, that should help Giannis get to 20 or 25 just about every night.
2.3
Not that it is inherently the worst thing in the world to do, but Giannis led the entire league in personal fouls last season. After going foul-less in 35 minutes in Detroit, he is down to 2.3 per game.
2.3
Also 2.3, turnovers per game. This is down from 2.6 per game last season.
2.0
In addition to leading the Bucks in points and rebounding (and nearly in assists), Giannis leads the team with 2.0 blocks per game.
2.0
Also 2.0, 3-pointers attempted per game. If you look at where Giannis is shooting the ball from, the only real difference from last season is that he has shifted roughly five percent of his shot attempts from the dreaded long twos range into 3-pointers. Three cheers for that.
2.0
And another one. Another 2.0. Heed the small sample size disclaimers well here, but Giannis is showing up in enough of these hustle stats (he ranks in the top-20 in shots contested per game, too) to at least keep an eye on them. Here, his 2.0 loose balls recovered per game ties him for third-most in the league. Names like Avery Bradley, Joakim Noah, Ricky Rubio, Kawhi Leonard and Steven Adams already dot the top-10.
103.8
The Bucks have an offensive rating of 103.8 with Giannis on the court. They have an offensive rating of 87.6 without Giannis on the court. He helps.
(Hat-tips to stats.nba.com, basketball-reference, and nbawowy.com for the numbers goodness.)