Giannis Antetokounmpo Forces Himself to Attain a 5-Second and Under Free Throw Routine Ahead of Olympics

Giannis Antetokounmpo truly is the living embodiment of a ‘Freak.’ The 6’11 forward can not only cover the entire court in a few long strides but he also possesses the power and athleticism to dunk over almost anyone in the league. There aren’t a lot of downsides to Antetokounmpo’s game, except for his free throw shooting and routine.

The Milwaukee Bucks All-Star forward is often the victim of the 10-second violation when at the free-throw line. The Greek Freak tends to take more than the allotted time to find his rhythm while shooting from the charity stripe. But now, it looks like Antetokounmpo is in the lab right now, getting it fixed. Or better yet, working on it.

The video shows the 29-year-old working on his new free throw routine that he uploaded on Instagram, and it has since gone viral. Antetokounmpo’s new form looks much more fundamental. But the main aspect was, that it is much faster. This new routine has him collecting the ball, fixing his feet, one dribble, followed by the release.

According to the post’s caption, the Bucks forward may have been working on changing his free throw routine due to the 5-second FIBA rule. And with the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament underway, the Greek Freak certainly does not want to leave anything to chances.

“Giannis working on his free throw timing, potentially due to FIBA requiring a 5-second rule on free throws. Form looks great!”

The NBA has a 10-second violation if a player takes more than that to release the ball from his hands. FIBA brings that down to 5 seconds. And for context, here is a video of Giannis getting slapped with the very same 10-second violation due to his unusually long, free-throw routine.

Given the amount of heat he has faced over his free-throw routine, it was a wise move by Antetokounmpo to fix something his national team would go on to suffer from during the tournament.

Giannis Antetokounmpo once defended his free-throw routine

So far in his career, Giannis has been a 70.2% free throw shooter. While he may not be among the best from the charity stripe, The Greek Freak did once offer an explanation for his unusually long free-throw routine. As per TheScore, Antetokounmpo said,

“Sometimes I’m so tired I take a few extra seconds of resting. If there’s going to be a 10-second call, I expect it. I’ll give them the ball and run the other way.”

Giannis’ career free-throw percentage may not be an impressive one, but the two-time MVP did sink most of his shots when it mattered the most. Back during the 2021 NBA Finals, Antetokoumpo shot 17-19 from the line, helping him in his iconic 50-point championship win in Game 6.

As for his recent performance, the eight-time All-Star recently suited up for Greece as they faced the Dominican Republic in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Antetokounmpo finished the game with 32 points and 2 steals while going a perfect 11-11 from the field. His performance against the Dominican Republic earned him the second-highest efficiency rating this past week.