Giannis Antetokounmpo is not like other NBA players. That much is obvious just by looking at him. After all, you don’t earn the nickname the Greek Freak without being an otherworldly athletic specimen. That’s not the only thing that sets him apart, though. He’s even different from many other superstars in the league.
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We saw this summer how Giannis thinks differently from many other All-Star-level talents. As the outside world pressured him to force his way out of Milwaukee, he instead stayed committed to the one NBA team he’s ever known.
Giannis didn’t rule out the possibility that he’d eventually move on, but his candor hit much differently than most player-team interactions these days, in which the player wields his power with brute force.
Rajon Rondo is a special assistant with the Bucks, and he’s seen up close what sets Giannis apart. On a recent appearance on All the Smoke, he told Matt Barnes about it.
“He’s a great teammate,” Rondo said. “There’s a lot of similarities with Kevin Garnett, how he was. Guys like playing with him, he’s an extremely hard worker, and he’s open to criticism.”
Rondo, of course, played with Garnett on those great Celtics teams, and it’s that experience that led to him landing in Milwaukee, as he reunited with his former head coach, Doc Rivers. It’s still noteworthy that he chose Garnett as a comparison to Giannis, as the Big Ticket mentored the now two-time MVP when he was a young up-and-coming player in the league.
Rondo called Giannis “a great human being” and said that having two of his brothers on the team has given him a tremendous support system.
Giannis is one of the most talented players the league has ever seen, and he’s now playing in his 13th season. His game continues to evolve, though. Barnes asked Rondo to name the next step his game could take, and though Giannis won a Defensive Player of the Year six years ago, Rondo mentioned that side of the ball.
“We challenge him everyday on the staff to just be a better communicator on defense,” he said, while pointing out the importance of that since the team around Giannis has changed so much in recent years. Gone is the Jrue Holiday/Khris Middleton/Brook Lopez core, and in are fresh new faces like Myles Turner, Cole Anthony, and Ryan Rollins.
Even though they’re still coming together, the Bucks are hanging tough at 9-8. Giannis has led the way, as he’s fourth in the league in points and seventh in rebounds while shooting a higher percentage from the floor and dishing more assists per game than at any point in his career.
Unfortunately, he left last night’s game with a groin strain and is set for an MRI today. They say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, and the Bucks may find that out the hard way if he has to miss an extended period.
