3 Bucks in HoopsHype's Top 100 NBA Players List for the 2024-25 Season

Three Milwaukee Bucks appear in HoopsHype's annual rankings of the top 100 NBA players heading into 2024-25: Giannis Antetokounmpo (4), Damian Lillard (21) and Khris Middleton (96).

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles the ball in the second quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

MILWAUKEE — Following its release of the top 30 NBA players at each position, HoopsHype announced its list of the top 100 players heading into the 2024-25 season on Tuesday, where a trio of Milwaukee Bucks found their names listed.

Giannis Antetokounmpo ranked in the top 5, and Damian Lillard barely missed cracking the top 20. Khris Middleton also got a ranking, coming in as the 96th ranked player. Read on for the Bucks details.

No. 4 - Giannis Antetokounmpo (PF)

2023-24 stats (73 games): 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.1 blocks per game. 61.1 field-goal percentage, 27.4 three-point percentage.

• NBA champion (2021)
• NBA Finals MVP (2021)
• 2x NBA Most Valuable Player (2019, 2020)
• 8x NBA All-Star (2017-24)
• NBA All-Star Game MVP (2021)
• 6x All-NBA First Team (2019-24)
• 2x All-NBA Second Team (2017, 2018)
• 1x NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2020)
• 4x NBA All-Defensive First Team (2019-2022)
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2017)
• NBA Most Improved Player (2017)
• NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2014)
• NBA 75th-Anniversary Team
• FIBA EuroBasket Top Scorer (2022)
• Euroscar Player of the Year (2018)

It's no surprise that Giannis Antetokounmpo landed within the top five of HoopHype's top 100 list given he was ranked the No. 1 on their earlier list of strictly power forwards.

The Greek Freak is undoubtedly one of the best talents across the entire NBA when healthy. Last season prior to getting injured at the tail end of the regular season with a calf injury, Antetokounmpo managed to make NBA history when he became the first player to average 30-plus points on 60 percent shooting from the field over the course of the regular season. He also finished fourth in the MVP vote last season while earning 1st Team All-NBA and All-Star honors.

Based in large part due to the Bucks having finished in the bottom half of the league in team defense last season, Antetokounmpo failed to make All-Defensive First or Second Team for the second consecutive season in 2023-24. However, don't be fooled by the recent drought as he's still one of the league's best defenders as evident by his 2020 Defensive Player of the Year award and four straight All-Defensive First Team selections (2019-22) when the Bucks were routinely ranked as one of the NBA's top teams defensively.

Giannis has shown no signs of slowing down despite the fact that he's set to turn 30 later this December. Over the course of his 11-year NBA career, Antetokounmpo has averaged 72 games played each season. This upcoming season should be another monster year for Antetokounmpo individually, though he will likely be hoping for more team success after having been eliminated in the first-round of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

No. 21 - Damian Lillard (PG)

Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) listens as fans applaud his return before a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center in 2023-24. / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

2023-24 stats (73 games): 24.3 points, 7.0 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals per game. 42.4 field-goal percentage, 35.4 three-point percentage.

• 8x NBA All-Star (2014, 2015, 2018-21, 2023, 2024)
• NBA All-Star Game MVP (2024)
• All-NBA First Team (2018)
• 4x All-NBA Second Team (2016, 2019-2021)
• 2x All-NBA Third Team (2014, 2023)
• NBA Rookie of the Year (2013)
• NBA All-Rookie First Team (2013)
• NBA 75th-Anniversary Team
• 2x NBA Three-Point Contest Champion (2023, 2024)

Last year was all about change for Damian Lillard. Not only did he have to suddenly pack his bags and acclimate to not just being on a team other than the Portland Trail Blazers for the first time in his career, but he also had to get used to no longer being the best player on his team.

Because of all the changes, Lillard often found himself struggling to an extent. Last season, he posted the third-worst VORP and BPM of his career while averaging 24.3 points and 7.0 assists on 42.4 percent shooting from the floor. As a career 37.1 percent shooter from beyond the arc, Lillard only hit 35.4 percent of his three-pointers last season, which marked his third worst percentage throughout his career. Despite all this, he still managed to be named an NBA All-Star for the eighth time in his career in 2023-24.

Regardless of his first-year struggles in Milwaukee, Lillard should by all accounts return to form as one of the league's top guards now that he's had a full season and offseason to get acclimated to his new situation in Milwaukee. Therefore, it's no shock to see him crack the top 25.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

No. 96 - Khris Middleton (SF)

2023-24 stats (55 games):15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.3 blocks per game. 49.3 field-goal percentage, 38.1 three-point percentage

• 3x NBA All-Star (2019, 2020, 2022)
• NBA champion (2021)

It's assumed Middleton's recent injury history is what caused him to slip so far down the top 100 list after being named the 54th best player in HoopHype's 2023-24 top 100 list a year ago. As a player who's only appeared in 88 of 164 regular-season games over the past two seasons, averaging just 15.1 points on 35.5 percent shooting from three over that stretch, the concerns for Middleton seem valid. His numbers are a far cry from when he was an All-Star just three seasons ago when he put up a 20/5/5 stat line.

Still, at 33, Middleton did seem to recapture some of his old swagger in their first-round series loss to the Indiana Pacers last postseason. Middleton averaged 24.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists on 48.2 percent shooting over the six games.

The only problem was he followed up his postseason brilliance by needing offseason surgery on both ankles, leaving questions about his season-long health going forward for the remainder of his career.

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