With two-thirds of the roster born in 1990 or later, the Milwaukee Bucks are a young, growing team. Every Thursday for the rest of the season, FOX Sports Wisconsin will take a closer look at the players that are 25 years old and younger (for the most part, those still in their first four NBA seasons), measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress.
This is the 8th edition of the 2016-17 Young Bucks Tracker.
(A glossary of the advanced statistics used for season totals, which are from basketball-reference.com. can be found at the end of this article)
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (Age 22, fourth season)
Statistical season averages: 34.9 minutes, 23.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.8 blocks, 52.3 FG%, 28.4 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 35.2 minutes, 28.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.7 blocks, 55.1 FG%, 20.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 28.0 PER, 60.7 percent TS%, 28.4 percent USG%, 118 ORtg, 100 DRtg, 3.3 VORP.
Notable: Antetokounmpo recorded a career-high 39 points in a win over Washington on Dec. 23. He is now third in the NBA in both Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and Value Over Replacement Player (VORP). Not counting players who barely saw the court in a season, Giannis currently owns the fourth-best PER in franchise history, behind just Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who owns the top three spots (29.9, 29.0 and 28.5). Only 62 times in NBA history has a player had a 28.0 or better PER in a season (min. 1,000 minutes).
MALCOLM BROGDON (Age 24, first season)
Statistical season averages: 22.0 minutes, 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.1 blocks, 45.5 FG%, 43.8 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 26.9 minutes, 10.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.0 blocks, 87.5 FG%, 75.0 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 13.3 PER, 55.5 percent TS%, 17.3 percent USG%, 107 ORtg, 108 DRtg, 0.2 VORP.
Notable: Brogdon's incredible shooting week began with him making all 10 of his shots in two games against Washington (including 7-of-7 in a home win) and then he finished it off by going 4-for-6 at Detroit. In the Pistons game, Brogdon also set a season (and thus career) high with eight assists.
THON MAKER (Age 19, first season)
Statistical season averages: 4.0 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.0 assists, 0.0 steals, 0.3 blocks, 56.3 FG%, 42.9 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 5.3 minutes, 3.5 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.0 assists, 0.0 steals, 0.0 blocks, 60.0 FG%, 33.3 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 20.9 PER, 66.2 percent TS%, 20.8 percent USG%, 121 ORtg, 102 DRtg, -0.1 VORP.
Notable: Maker got into both of Milwaukee's wins last week, scoring five points with two rebounds against Washington.
JABARI PARKER (Age 21, third season)
Statistical season averages: 33.1 minutes, 20.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.3 blocks, 49.5 FG%, 38.4 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 35.3 minutes, 22.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks, 56.9 FG%, 38.5 3PT%.
Advanced stats: 20.1 PER, 56.3 percent TS%, 26.3 percent USG%, 112 ORtg, 108 DRtg, 0.8 VORP.
Notable: Parker displayed his all-around game in Wednesday's win over Detroit, posting 31 points (his third-highest career total), a career-high seven assists and nine rebounds while making 13 of 18 shots, including 4 of 7 3-pointers.
TONY SNELL (Age 25, fourth season)
Statistical season averages: 29.3 minutes, 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, 42.6 FG%, 33.6 3PT%.
Statistical averages, last week: 28.1 minutes, 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.3 blocks, 61.5 FG%, 55.6 3PT%.
Advanced stats: 9.2 PER, 55.0 percent TS%, 13.1 percent USG%, 108 ORtg, 110 DRtg, 0.2 VORP.
Notable: Snell found his stroke this past week, scoring in double figures in all three games including a season-high 20 points in the loss to Washington. Snell made a career-high six 3-pointers in that game and had 10 combined in Milwaukee's three games. He made all four of his shots, including three 3s, in the win at Detroit on Wednesday, and was 18 of 26 overall on the week (10 of 18 on 3s).
RASHAD VAUGHN (Age 20, second season)
Statistical season averages: 11.9 minutes, 4.4 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.3 blocks, 38.7 FG%, 36.8 3PT%.
Advanced stats, season: 9.2 PER, 50.0 percent TS%, 17.6 percent USG%, 95 ORtg, 109 DRtg, -0.1 VORP.
Notable: Vaughn was a DNP in all three of Milwaukee's games this past week.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
PER -- Player Efficiency Rating: A measure of per-minute production standardized such that the league average is 15.
TS% -- True Shooting Percentage: A measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account 2-point field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws.
USG% -- Usage Percentage: An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor.
ORtg -- Offensive Rating: An estimate of points produced per 100 possessions.
DRtg -- Defensive Rating: An estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions.
VORP -- Value over Replacement Player: A box score estimate of the points per 100 TEAM possessions that a player contributed above a replacement-level (-2.0) player, translated to an average team and prorated to an 82-game season.
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