Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo recently married his fiancée in Greece, but Charles Barkley He may have disrupted his honeymoon by challenging him to improve as a basketball player. If you ask the Round Mound of Rebound, the Bucks star still has plenty of holes in his game that keep him from becoming an all-time great, despite averaging 30.4 points on 64.9 percent shooting last season.

In a recent interview With Bill Simmons, Charles Barkley said he’s still not impressed with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.

“I’m not interested in Milwaukee at all,” Sir Charles said. “I’m not a Milwaukee fan… I think Giannis has to improve as a basketball player, you can’t just go up and down and play 1-on-5 every time.”

Plugging the Bucks’ holes

Greece forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) reacts after losing to Germany in a men's basketball quarterfinal match during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics at Accor Arena.
© Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Barkley’s comments about the 2021 Finals MVP sound familiar. After all, it’s similar to James Harden’s previous criticism of Giannis’ play during the height of their 2020 conflict.

“I wish I could run, run, be six feet tall, run and dunk, it doesn’t take any skill,” the former Houston Rockets star said with a laugh. “I have to learn how to play basketball, have some skill, you know?”

Harden and Barkley may both be right, as Giannis’ game is reminiscent of a younger LeBron James, able to get to the basket at will simply because he is so much stronger than every defender on the court.

Additionally, Giannis doesn’t seem to have much post-game talent, as he typically operates from the top of the paint and drives into the lane for a dunk or layup. The modern NBA simply doesn’t have many defenders who can block him, with the possible exception of Joel Embiid or Anthony Davis.

Despite his lack of offensive versatility, don’t expect the Bucks to fix what isn’t fixed. After all, Giannis has won two MVP awards, an NBA championship and a Finals MVP award playing the way he does.

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Maximize the stars

However, in the modern NBA, teams always find a way to stop one-dimensional players in a playoff series. For example, the 2011 Dallas Mavericks practically dared LeBron to take shots, the only flaw in his game at the time. They threw different defenders at him to make him uncomfortable and limited his access to the paint by using Tyson Chandler.

In this case, it is up to the team to build around its star’s weaknesses. Bucks Add Damian Lillard to help spread the field and distract Giannis’ defensive attention. Khris Middleton is also a competent shooter who can make shots from the middle.

But what if Giannis added Hakeem’s “dream shake” or Shaq’s drop-step dunk to his arsenal? It would prolong his career after his physical advantages no longer serve him, and it would make the Bucks even harder to defend.

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