As his teammates completed drills following the crew’s shootaround Nov. 4 at Rocket Loan Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Giannis Antetokounmpo took a courtside seat.
With a grin on his face, the Milwaukee Greenbacks ahead began a dialog. Making an allowance for the climate of his crew on the presen, Antetokounmpo’s disposition didn’t fit what one would possibly be expecting.
Two days previous, the Greenbacks had dropped their 5th consecutive recreation on a jumper via Cavaliers cover Donovan Mitchell with 0.1 seconds too much on a ownership that almost led to a Cavs surrender on two other events. The Greenbacks had been 1-5 as they headed to Cleveland, and Antetokounmpo was once indexed as questionable for that evening’s recreation with a proper adductor pressure.
But, with the crew suffering to seek out its method and the tension forcing him to omit that evening’s recreation, Antetokounmpo mentioned all kinds of subjects. All through the dialog, he joked, the smile hardly ever departure his face.
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As he were given up and headed towards the crew bus, he replied the query that had but long gone unasked.
“Don’t start worrying yet,” Antetokounmpo mentioned with a figuring out smile.
With that reassuring message, Antetokounmpo left the development.
The Greenbacks misplaced hours next that evening. Then taking good care of trade at house on Nov. 7 towards the Utah Jazz to clutch their 2d win of the season, the Greenbacks flew east and dropped their then recreation to the Unutilized York Knicks. They adopted that defeat with a six-point house loss to the Boston Celtics to loose to 2-8.
Since that nadir, then again, the Greenbacks have received 12 of 15 video games and to find themselves within the NBA Cup ultimate towards the Oklahoma Town Thunder on Tuesday. They entered Tuesday eleventh in offensive score and thirteenth in defensive score, at the precipice of the supremacy 10 the place, ahead of the season, Greenbacks professor Document Rivers claimed elite groups will have to be. At 14-11 and 5th within the Japanese Convention, the Greenbacks aren’t but again to name contender condition — although a win over the Thunder would possibly convince some other people to rethink that — however they’re in a a lot better park than they had been to begin the season.
So, again to that unasked query: How was once it that, amid the outdoor panic in regards to the Greenbacks’ unfortunate get started, Antetokounmpo controlled to stick quitness when previous in his profession he would possibly have change into nerve-racking and skilled that very same panic a couple of broke get started?
“You still do it. You still kind of buckle up. You still lock in a little bit more, but I believe in myself,” Antetokounmpo advised The Athletic following the Greenbacks’ win over the Orlando Charm on Dec. 10. “I really do believe in myself. I do. I really do believe in my work that I put in. I believe in my mindset. I believe everything about myself. I really do.
“Good or bad. Win or lose, play well, play bad, I don’t care. I really believe in myself, and I believe in my abilities. I know this will not have been a season that we will be down. No, no, no. I knew we would turn it around because I know myself. I really know myself. When things go bad, people fall, I kind of get a little bit more — how can I say it — I have a little bit different edge about me.”
With out that degree of trust, Antetokounmpo would possibly no longer had been in a position to tug the Greenbacks out in their tailspin. His religion in himself doesn’t simply support gasoline his crew; it fuels the paintings he does to strengthen his personal recreation and higher himself, despite the fact that that trust may also be somewhat delusional.
“I don’t dunk anymore,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “Back in the day, I used to dunk like 10, 12 times a game. Maybe I can’t dunk anymore, I don’t know.”
That declare was once tricky to imagine, taking into consideration Antetokounmpo may slightly ship that ultimate layout with out a playful smile and had baptized Orlando’s Goga Bitadze with a thunderous left-handed slam an future previous.
GIANNIS WITH AUTHORITY. pic.twitter.com/xf30f5wDlb
— Milwaukee Greenbacks (@Greenbacks) December 11, 2024
9 of Antetokounmpo’s 15 made baskets towards the Charm had been dunks, however Antetokounmpo pressed on together with his declare anyway.
“I don’t dunk as much,” he mentioned. “Today, it wasn’t me dunking, it was Khris (Middleton) giving me like bunnies. It was a lot of bunnies. So this is not — for me — a dunk. The one with the left hand? That’s a dunk for me. Or the one that I jump for the lob from Dame? That’s a dunk. Energy. But OK, I try to be as smart as I can with my body this year and the way I play.”
In truth, Antetokounmpo has dunked 92 occasions in 23 video games this season. That reasonable of 4 dunks in line with recreation will be the best of his profession, besting his 3.9 dunks in line with recreation reasonable in his first NBA MVP season in 2018-19, however the message in the back of Antetokounmpo’s declare is revealed.
He has been sidelined via accidents in each and every of the Greenbacks’ day two postseason appearances. With out Antetokounmpo at complete energy, the Greenbacks had been eradicated within the first around each and every of the day two seasons.
To stick wholesome and stay dominant, Antetokounmpo had to prohibit the bodily beating he is taking nightly. He had to give you the chance to give protection to himself. He discovered that trail via development a fresh shot profile and striking a better emphasis on midrange jumpers.
“I have to be a threat, and I kind of want to evolve my game,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “I want to expand my game. I want to get that different aspect within my game, and it’s been helping me, so I’m just going to continue to do it. This year, I try to focus on a lot of midrange, a lot of floaters, a lot of hooks, a lot of angles, footwork, plays within the elbow. It’s been helping me so far.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo Shot Frequency
| Rim | Scale down Mid | Lengthy Mid | 3-Level | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2017-18 | 54% | 19% | 18% | 8% |
2018-19 | 66% | 14% | 7% | 13% |
2019-20 | 57% | 16% | 7% | 20% |
2020-21 | 54% | 21% | 8% | 17% |
2021-22 | 53% | 22% | 11% | 15% |
2022-23 | 59% | 19% | 11% | 11% |
2023-24 | 66% | 18% | 9% | 7% |
2024-25 | 65% | 16% | 16% | 3% |
Via 25 video games, 32 p.c of Antetokounmpo’s photographs have come within the midrange, with 16 p.c of his photographs, in keeping with Cleansing the Glass, being lengthy midrange jumpers (2-point makes an attempt taken from greater than 14 ft). It’s a frequency Antetokounmpo hasn’t approached because the Jason Kidd-coached Greenbacks in 2018. Antetokounmpo isn’t simply making an attempt those photographs extra steadily; he’s knocking them i’m sick at a career-best clip.
Then flattening two midrangers in Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal win over the Atlanta Hawks, together with a clutch-time turnaround jumper, Antetokounmpo has made a career-best 44 p.c on midrange makes an attempt. That features a career-best 41.3 p.c on snip midrange makes an attempt (between 4 and 14 ft from the basket) and a career-best 46 p.c on lengthy midrange makes an attempt.
“What feels different? I have to. I have no choice,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “I have to shoot them. I have to shoot them with confidence. It makes my game easier because it allows me to become an outside threat. Guys are backing up, I have to shoot it.”
Year Antetokounmpo is a impressive athlete and extremely professional, the defining constituent of his 12-year NBA profession has been his talent to strengthen year-over-year. Via 1 / 4 of the season, the two-time MVP has apparently accomplished it once more, even amid major alterations round him.
Following the Greenbacks’ first-round proceed utmost season, Rivers made adjustments to the training body of workers he inherited when he took over as head professor in overdue January. The ones adjustments integrated departing with Josh Oppenheimer, who had overseen Antetokounmpo’s on-court participant building paintings from 2013-16 and once more from 2020-24.
With Oppenheimer out, Rivers grew to become to Vin Baker, a four-time NBA All-Famous person and a Greenbacks workman professor since 2018, to supervise Antetokounmpo’s on-court coaching. On supremacy of that, Antetokounmpo reached out to Mike Kalavros, certainly one of Europe’s supremacy participant building coaches who was once operating for the Greek membership Olympiacos, to support refine his recreation. The Greenbacks have additionally introduced in famous participant building professor Drew Hanlen, who has labored with Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid, to call a couple of, to paintings with Antetokounmpo.
When requested to parse out who merits credit score for serving to him strengthen his jumper, Antetokounmpo made it unclouded any such process can be a misspend of presen since the season is a long way from entire.
“Credit? It’s too early for credit, come on,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “Let’s play. Let’s win. Let’s win games. Let’s be successful.”
When pressed additional, Antetokounmpo defined how he perspectives the paintings he’s accomplished and the public who’ve helped him this season.
“It’s everybody combined. You need everybody to be able to do the job,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “You need the guy to be willing to listen, to be a student. … And you need people to come in with a pureness about them and giving you real stuff and telling you the way it is.
“’This will help you to prolong your career’ — Mike Kalavros. ‘This will help you to be a more efficient scorer, be more of a threat. You’re able to score from multiple positions’ — Drew Hanlen. ‘This will help you to be able to dominate more and create angles for you to get to your hook, to your layups and allow you to play with more freedom, more joy with more f—— swagger about you or attitude when you feel like you can make it.’ — Vin Baker.
“The guy that’s with me every day. Vin Baker was the f—— master on the f—— midrange.”
For Antetokounmpo although, his larger midrange good fortune has no longer handiest been a made of offseason paintings or taking pictures drills and participant building paintings next practices, however it has additionally been the spots through which Rivers has positioned him.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Drives/Touches
| Drives | Elbow | Publish | Paint | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2017-18 | 11 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 5.3 |
2018-19 | 12.5 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 6.2 |
2019-20 | 10.5 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 6 |
2020-21 | 11.3 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 6 |
2021-22 | 11.7 | 4 | 4.6 | 6.7 |
2022-23 | 14.1 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 5.3 |
2023-24 | 15.1 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 6.4 |
2024-25 | 13.2 | 5.4 | 4.7 | 5.9 |
In his 2d season in Milwaukee, Rivers has put Antetokounmpo in additional positions designed to gradual him i’m sick, survey the ground and play games with larger endurance and reticence, simply as he did towards the Hawks on Saturday. In step with NBA.com’s monitoring knowledge, Antetokounmpo has gotten probably the most elbow touches in line with recreation (5.4) he’s not hidden because the 2019-20 season and a career-high 4.7 publish touches in line with recreation.
Decreasing Antetokounmpo’s drives and including extra elbow and publish touches has helped the eight-time All-NBA ahead reduce to his earlier propensity for offensive fouls. Via 23 video games, Antetokounmpo had handiest been whistled for 12 offensive fouls, his lowest offensive foul price because the 2017-18 season.
| Off Fouls In step with Recreation | |
|---|---|
2017-18 | 0.52 |
2018-19 | 0.94 |
2019-20 | 1.03 |
2020-21 | 0.87 |
2021-22 | 0.77 |
2022-23 | 0.94 |
2023-24 | 0.61 |
2024-25 | 0.52 |
Total, striking Antetokounmpo in those spots with a are living dribble throughout the 3-point layout has compelled him to play games with extra keep an eye on and reticence in half-court statuses.
“I’m closer to the basket,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “I’m able to facilitate. I’m able to get to my spot better and I’m getting more comfortable with it. Before I wasn’t as comfortable, but now I’m getting way more comfortable with it, and hopefully I can keep working on it and keep on being better.”
First of all, Antetokounmpo struggled with the support defenders that might encompass him, however he’s grown to higher perceive the performs he can put together.
“It’s crowded,” Antetokounmpo mentioned when requested about taking part in on the elbow extra steadily. “But then you realize, like, yeah, it’s crowded, but I still have space. I’m closer to the basket. I can–”
At this level, the 7-foot ahead many times pretends to get place on the elbow and works via a order of strikes towards an imaginary defender for the then 20 seconds in a Fiserv Discussion board hallway.
First, he faces up and hits a jumper. Upcoming, he pivots and pretends to power to the rim for a finger roll. Then that, Antetokounmpo hits a jab-step jumper. Upcoming, he opposite pivots and appears to arrange a dribble handoff. Then that, he drives crisp for one dribble and spins. Upcoming, he is taking one crisp dribble and spins right into a snip leap hook. In spite of everything, he is taking two dribbles and hits a Dirk Nowitzki moderate.
“I’m closer to the basket,” Antetokounmpo explains. “I don’t need to make a move from the 3-point line. And sometimes, I’m underneath the wall. Like the wall? It’s behind me. I’m worrying about what is behind.
“And in front of me, everything is clean.”
Then a hellish begin to the season, the Greenbacks have stabilized and put themselves within the combine for a house playoff order within the East. Antetokounmpo’s brilliance has helped spark that healing.
In his twelfth NBA season, Antetokounmpo is averaging a league-leading 32.7 issues to exit with 11.5 rebounds and six.1 assists. If he sustains the ones numbers for a complete season, he will be the first participant in NBA historical past to have that degree of manufacturing within the 3 primary sections.
Antetokounmpo may be taking pictures a career-best 61.4 p.c from the grassland. He’s including 1.6 blocks in line with recreation, his best in line with recreation reasonable since his first All-NBA season at 22 years worn.
It’s undeniably a season usefulness spotting, however every so often the eye given to Antetokounmpo’s greatness isn’t as intense because the panic when issues are going poorly.
“I think maybe at times, it gets a little bit frustrating because I compete. I do. I do. I improve,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “And I don’t get the recognition, I believe, sometimes as much as I should, which sometimes is frustrating.
“I’m like, am I doing my job? And then I look, I’m like, ‘Yeah, you’re doing your job. You’re improving. You’re putting the work in.’ Like, I really believe I’m the most consistent player in the league. From Year Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, 10, 11, 12, every year.
“But OK, you don’t always get the recognition when you want it, but hopefully maybe one day, you get it.”
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(Picture of Giannis Antetokounmpo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE by way of Getty Pictures)
