“I want to be like Kevin Durant!”: When Giannis Antetokounmpo revealed who his idol in the NBA was during the 2013 pre-draft interview

Tonoy Sengupta | 08/08/2021
"I want to be NBA player": A look back at Giannis Antetokounmpo's pre-draft interview from all the way back in 2013

A look back at Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s pre-draft interview gives fans an idea of just how humble his beginnings were

 

The journey and story of Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the greatest in NBA history, perhaps even the greatest ever.

The child that sold watches and other accessories on the side of Greek roads is now a 2-time MVP, a Defensive player of the year, a Finals MVP, and of course, an NBA champion. Truly, as incredible as they could possibly come.

Despite all his greatness today though, the Greek Freak had nearly no interest coming his way ahead of the 2013 NBA Draft. Given that he had played in the second division of Greece, hardly any high-quality footage of the player was available at the time. And hence, let’s just say the mystery was a bit too strong with this one.

During his pre-draft process though, he was interviewed about his aspirations and just where he wants to go. And after the Greek Freak finally won a ring, we felt it would be a good time to revisit the video of the child with starry eyes and mere dreams of the NBA.

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“I want to be NBA player”: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s hallowed pre-draft interview

Giannis Antetokounmpo was picked 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA draft.

Yep. A future all-time great, and he wasn’t even a lottery pick.

To be fair to NBA franchises though, as a prospect, he was so raw that it was tough to make out just who he’d become. Still, teams should’ve seen his determination to get better. In fact, you can even see it in his pre-draft interview. Take a look at the clip in the tweet below.

Man, Giannis looks a bit too different for our liking now. It’s not even like he grew a beard. The man literally gained over 70 pounds of pure muscle.

That aside though, the Greek Freak has indeed come a long way since being the skinny kid out of Greece. And with the player already winning his first ring at just 26-years-old, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for his career.

Also Read: Jayson Tatum recalls his ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment on Knuckleheads Podcast

Post Edited By: Tonoy Sengupta
Giannis Antetokounmpo Kevin Durant Magic Johnson Milwaukee Bucks NBA

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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