When Giannis Antetokounmpo first entered the league, nobody, including his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo, expected him to become the player that he is today. On a recent episode of Thanasis’s podcast, Thanalysis Show, Caron Butler talked about his experience observing the Bucks superstar at an early stage of his career. Butler stated that while Giannis showed enough promise to be a good player back in 2013, his rise to superstardom was something nobody saw coming.
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Giannis was the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. In the same year, the Bucks signed Butler and that’s where the two met for the first time. The two-time All-Star told Thanasis that he remembers seeing Giannis for the first time on the court during their first practice together.
Butler had heard a lot about this young talent from Athens. But when he saw Giannis play for the first time, he understood the hype around his name. However, the 44-year-old still couldn’t see the full picture back then.
During the show, Butler was asked by Thanasis if he could foresee the meteoric rise of Giannis in 2013. The former NBA star said, “I thought, All-Star, great all-around player, playmaker, I didn’t see like, MVP, MVP, Defensive [player of the year] like you didn’t see all that.”
“Anybody that tell you that is fooling themselves,” he emphatically added.
Even Thanasis agreed that he didn’t think Giannis would be able to climb these heights in his career.
So, it’s not that people underestimated the Greek star as a player when he entered the league. But the Greek Freak worked really hard on his game to transcend all expectations bestowed on him. Giannis averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 41.4% from the field as a rookie.
When he won his first MVP in 2019, he averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists while shooting 57.8% from the field. Since then, his average has stayed above 28-11-5 with an FG% of 55 and above.
The evolution of his skills has also allowed him to lead the Bucks to the 2021 NBA title without joining forces with other superstars in the league. Giannis still has many years left in his career and has already cemented his legacy as an All-Time Great.
