“This old thing? I took it from Westbrook”: How Giannis Antetokounmpo borrowed his signature mean mug from the 2017 NBA MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his mean mug are feared across the league, however, its origin story is one of character development and growth.
Today we see the Greek Freak, or Greek God, more like, as perhaps the best player in the league. How he climbed the ladder and reached the pinnacle is a story in itself.
For now, we shift our attention to how the reigning Finals MVP’s mean mug came about. For the uninitiated, Giannis’ mean mug was not natural. He worked on it, attentively.
How the 2014-15 season became the year Giannis Antetokounmpo emerged from the ashes
The Bucks just came off a 15-win season, and it was evident new coach Jason Kidd wanted to bring about some changes. Giannis arrived that year, with the same mindset.
He was done being the adorable young player, he wanted to be feared. The best way to do that is to develop a face, a mean face.
As a young player, he loved the scowl Russell Westbrook put on. The face he made after making a nuclear explosion-like dunk. The exclamation point on a game capped off with a mean face that meant only one thing, business.
Giannis emulated this in practice and his teammates would laugh. They were puzzled by the fact that he was trying to keep up a new facade.
All of that would fade away once he started showing off the lethal arsenal of skills he had developed over the summer. 2014-15 was the year Giannis would emerge. The rest is history.
Excerpts from: https://www.theringer.com/2021/7/21/22585355/giannis-antetokounmpo-book-excerpt-the-improbable-rise
About the author
-
Samir Mehdi •
“They said Montrezl Harrell was the problem with the Clippers”: Lakers big man throws shade at Paul George and co following their embarrassing loss to Luka Doncic and the Mavericks in Game 2
-
Amulya Shekhar •
“Kwame Brown, you’re right, Kobe Bryant wouldn’t have looked at the stat sheet because you’d have 0 points”: No Chill Gilbert Arenas goes nuclear while roasting Kwame for his take on LeBron James looking at the stat sheet
-
Jeet Pukhrambam •
JJ Redick, Who Spurned Stephen A. Smith Recently, Puts Stephen Curry Alongside LeBron James and Michael Jordan Atop Mount Rushmore
-
Amulya Shekhar •
‘I have been told they have dogs’: Shannon Sharpe ridicules Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for Game 6 loss vs Nuggets
-
Utathya Ghosh •
$2.76 Trillion Company Helped Ayesha and Stephen Curry Hold Back on Giving Their Kids Phones: “We Found a Middle Ground”
-
Adit Pujari •
Is Nikola Jokic Playing Tonight vs Thunder? Nuggets’ Reigning MVP’s Latest Availability Update