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New-look Milwaukee Bucks need Giannis Antetokounmpo to develop key area of his game after waiving Damian Lillard

Originally posted on NBA Analysis Network
By Jonah Kubicek | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 8:30 PM ET

The Milwaukee Bucks have officially moved on from Damian Lillard and added Myles Turner in the hopes of winning a championship, although they will need Giannis Antetokounmpo to continue to expand a key part of his game.

A short-lived era of Milwaukee Bucks basketball has come to an end, with the team waiving superstar point guard Damian Lillard weeks after he suffered a torn Achilles in the playoffs, an injury that will likely keep him off the court for next season.

The Bucks let Lillard go in an expensive move to make room for free agent center Myles Turner, who is expected to be the perfect Brook Lopez replacement next to Giannis Antetokounmpo, as he can protect the rim and shoot from deep.

Much like Lopez, Turner is a limited rebounder, although Giannis is more than capable of crashing the boards.

With Lillard gone, the Bucks will need their best player to continue to hone a key area of his offensive game if they are to compete for a championship.

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Bucks need Giannis to remain a passing threat

Before he went down with a torn Achilles, Lillard missed the final 14 games of the regular season with blood clots.

The illness did not stop the Bucks from missing the playoffs; in fact, they went 11-3 in the games he missed, in large part due to Giannis playing a more complete offensive role.

With Lillard out, the Greek Freak continued his usual scoring and defensive dominance, but he managed to post 8.6 assists per game, up from a season average of 6.5 dimes, still very solid for a power forward.

With Lillard gone, Kevin Porter Jr. and Gary Trent are expected to round out the backcourt in the starting unit. While both are capable facilitators, they are both shooters and score-first guards primarily, and the offense will run through Antetokounmpo.

The Bucks found success with a similar offensive system during their 2021 title run, when Jrue Holiday was the “point guard” on paper, but most plays were started–and finished– by Antetokounmpo.

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Bucks successfully added shooters around Antetokounmpo

While Antetokounmpo is one of the best scorers and defenders in the league, and is an emerging elite passing threat, he is not a shooter. Over his career, he has made only 28.4% of his shots from deep, on only 2.2 attempts per game.

In order for him to realize his passing potential, the Bucks need to have viable shooting threats around him. Not only did Turner, Trent Jr., and Porter Jr. all shoot around 40% from deep last season, but the Bucks added trigger-happy Kyle Kuzma via trade last season, and have solid shooters Bobby Portis, Taurean Prince, and AJ Green coming off the bench.

In the East, the Bucks have easily the best player in Antetokounmpo, but they boast one of the best shooting lineups. After losing Lillard, it was expected that Milwaukee would take a clear step back, but if anything, they should enter the postseason with their best odds since hiring Doc Rivers.

This article first appeared on NBA Analysis Network and was syndicated with permission.

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