The Milwaukee Bucks have been at the center of a desperate effort to retool around two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer.
With trade speculation swirling after the club’s third consecutive first-round playoff exit, the Bucks made a series of moves to keep Antetokounmpo happy and the team competitive. After signing Myles Turner to a long-term deal and re-signing several key rotation players, the Bucks appear to be in decent shape in a wide-open Eastern Conference.
Without Antetokounmpo, however, this current Bucks roster would probably struggle to even make the postseason, if that. That reality is why Shaun Powell of NBA.com ranked Antetokounmpo as the best player in the Eastern Conference heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
“Honestly, there’s a bit of a gap between No. 1 and the pack, because none of the rest are bringing two Kia MVP awards, an NBA championship and a Finals MVP … and Antetokounmpo is still in his prime,” he wrote. “He is, perhaps undeniably, the league’s finest both-ends player, a force when he’s going downhill toward the hoop and an intimidating presence when he’s protecting it.”
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Antetokounmpo has been in the top five for MVP voting in seven consecutive seasons, showing no signs of slowing down. He has averaged at least 30.4 points per game in three straight years and a double-double in eight.
While his lack of a three-point shot and struggles at the charity stripe are evident, they are truly the only real knocks on his well-rounded game.
The 30-year-old forward will be expected to shoulder a heavy workload for Milwaukee once again, but if anyone can take a team on a deep playoff run when healthy, it’s him.
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