“His coaches ran for every miss and Giannis Antetokounmpo hated it”: Bucks used ‘torture technique’ to motivate Greek Freak to shoot better

Giannis Antetokounmpo has tried a variety of methods to improve his shooting over the last couple of years, since his rise to MVP candidature.

The Greek Freak has not been a good free throw shooter in either of his back-to-back MVP seasons. His percentages fell to a measly 63.8% for the 2019-20 season, a clear indication that he was regressing.

The Milwaukee Bucks coaches had on their hands a dynamite talent who’s improved his game like few others in league history. They believed they could get Giannis back up to respectable percentages as a shooter.

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In the wake of Giannis signing his supermax contract extension, ESPN released a story regarding his improvements. The story, among other things, contained a few unorthodox methods used by the Bucks to help the Greek Freak improve.

How coaches devised a torture method to increase accountability for Giannis Antetokounmpo

After getting knocked out by the Miami Heat in the playoffs, Giannis decided to get back to the lab. Coaches worked with him as he went through a series of post-up drills and shooting exercises. The Bucks sent a rotating group of assistants to Athens to work with.

During the most rigorous parts of the workout, Antetokounmpo would shoot a pair of free throws. This enabled him to simulate game situations – taking free throws while breathing heavily.

Here’s how Giannis practiced free throws over the summer: He’d shoot a pair in between the most rigorous parts of the workout.

If he missed them, his coaches would need to run and he would need to watch. Seeing others pay for his mistakes was torture.https://t.co/9WQT9Eq0ho

— Kendall Baker (@TheKendallBaker) December 15, 2020

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If he missed his free throws, his coaches would need to run and he would need to watch. Seeing other people pay for his mistakes was torture for Giannis. This is a common motivational strategy used by high school coaches everywhere.

Whether or not these routines have paid off is something only time will tell.