The Milwaukee Bucks begin this season knowing Giannis Antetokounmpo will dominate nearly every possession. The concern is whether the team has enough playmakers to ease his burden.
Antetokounmpo already carried the league’s heaviest workload. His 2024-25 usage rate stood at 34.6 percent, the highest in the NBA, and climbed to 35.2 percent in the playoffs. That was with Damian Lillard logging 58 regular-season games. With Lillard gone, Giannis’s usage could reach unprecedented levels.
Forbes’ Brian Sampson highlights the need for more playmaking around Giannis saying, “Still, he’ll turn 31 in December. As superhuman as he looks, he isn’t indestructible. Wear and tear adds up, even for the Greek Freak. That makes surrounding playmaking essential.”
Head coach Doc Rivers must carefully spread responsibility so Antetokounmpo stays effective while avoiding costly mistakes from others.
The guards provide a mixed picture. Ryan Rollins stepped in for Lillard late last year, averaging 10.8 points and 3.9 assists in 24 minutes. He protected the ball but looked more comfortable off it, making his outside shot his clearest strength.
The playmaking currently around Giannis Antetokounmpo
Kevin Porter Jr. handled the ball with more confidence, closing games and averaging 14.3 points and 4.7 assists with only 1.8 turnovers. Milwaukee went 9-4 when both played without Lillard, and Porter’s blend of scoring and efficiency makes him the most reliable guard, though his hot-and-cold stretches remain an issue.
Cole Anthony is the unpredictable factor. Once a rising playmaker, his numbers have declined each year, hitting 9.4 points and 2.9 assists last season. After a trade to Memphis and a waiver, he arrives in Milwaukee with a chance to reclaim a role.
On the wings, AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. thrive as shooters, but Rivers needs them to create offense in spurts, something they have not consistently shown.
The Middleton-for-Kuzma trade still stings. Kuzma struggled with turnovers, shot selection, and decision-making as a playmaker. When used at small forward, he looked out of place, and a move back to power forward, possibly as a reserve, may fit him better. That adjustment complicates Bobby Portis’s role since his usage last season reached a career-high in Milwaukee. His scoring efficiency dipped, but his passing improved, leaving the staff to sort out a workable balance.
Myles Turner, Milwaukee’s major offseason pickup, complements Giannis as a rim protector and pick-and-roll partner. Still, creating offense is not his game.
In the end, the Bucks must rely on Antetokounmpo while piecing together help from Porter, Rollins, Anthony, Green, Trent, Portis, and Turner. They lack a true replacement for Lillard, but if each player offers enough in his role, the group may still add up to something greater.
