Giannis Antetokounmpo has more than earned the nickname ‘The Greek Freak.’ One of the NBA’s most imposing physical specimens, the two-time MVP has been on the shortlist of the best players in the NBA for about a decade.
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When Giannis dunks on an opposing player’s head or blocks their shot, you can bet that he leaves an impression on his victims. That’s even more true for fans who get to look up in wonder as he signs an autograph.
Kevin Garnett is not someone who is easily impressed, and as he told the Bucks+ podcast this week, it took a bit for him to even take notice of Giannis.
“The first couple times I played him, I didn’t even remember,” Garnett said. “It wasn’t nothing that made me kind of stick out to remember the kid or nothing. I don’t even recall it, to the point where it wasn’t an impression.”
That feeling didn’t last, though. “It wasn’t until the third time, I think I was a little older,” Garnett remembered. “I think we had a preseason game against Milwaukee, and I could tell … he looked like Bruce Lee. He looked super ripped, he looked different. His posture was straight up.”
That was KG’s final year in the league, and after he retired, he got a call from Jason Kidd asking him to come work with the young buck. Garnett could tell that Giannis was talented, but he lacked a killer instinct.
“My first impression of him was that he was very respectful, and he was very timid,” Garnett recalled. “When I would talk to him or when I would say certain things to him, he wouldn’t look me in the face. He would look down.”
Garnett was the perfect person to bring Giannis out of his shell. “As I started working with him a little more, I noticed that he had a fire that he wanted to let out,” Garnett said. “It was just when James Harden and the Euro was coming in, and I actually thought that he was able to use the Euro better than anybody, especially in transition.”
KG imparted as much wisdom as he could, and he said that the difference between Giannis and other young players is that he put that knowledge to good use.
“Early Giannis was timid until he actually dialed into the knowledge, and then he applied the knowledge, which is the difference in a lot of things. People get knowledge but they don’t always apply it, and I can say that he applied it and then made a whole foundation of his game and who you knew him to be today, so big ups to Giannis, man.”
Being timid is no longer a problem for Giannis, because not only is he one of the best players in the world, he acts like it, too. He’s been at the center of a lot of speculation this summer about his future in Milwaukee, but as long as he’s there, the Bucks have a shot to make some noise in the East.
