NBA
Giannis Antetokounmpo Is an Athletic Freak but Can He Really Do What He Says?
Mike Thomas spent 23 years on staff and 16 years as the sports editor at The Herald News in Fall River, Mass., before joining Sportscasting in 2020. Mike has a deep knowledge of and passion for the NFL and NBA, and he excels at interviewing sports celebrities to find out their Super Bowl picks. A New England Newspaper and Press Association award-winning columnist and an avid sports memorabilia collector, Mike enjoys keeping up with all the sports news and the works of former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly. You can find more of Mike's work on Muck Rack.
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He’s called the Greek Freak for a reason. The athletically gifted Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks can do it all. The 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo has played point guard in the NBA and he’s played power forward. His versatility and athleticism are off the charts. It’s so ridiculous that it’s hard to believe some of the things he says he can do.
Antetokounmpo seeking his third straight MVP
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Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the best player in the NBA for the last two seasons. A year ago, he was flat-out dominant in a season that was interrupted by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The four-month break didn’t appear to affect the Milwaukee Bucks star, who finished the season by averaging 29.5 points and 13.6 rebounds per game.
Antetokounmpo was named the NBA’s MVP for the second straight year. He’s looking to become the first player since Larry Bird to win three straight MVPs. Bird was the league’s MVP during the 1984-86 seasons.
Antetokounmpo is having yet another strong season. Through 13 games this season, he’s putting up 27.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He has become one of the most feared players in the league simply because of all the things he can do for a player his size.
Antetokounmpo’s strong work ethic got him to where he is
Giannis Antetokounmpo was a relatively unknown player when he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013. According to Sports Illustrated, he was 6-foot-9, 196 pounds when he was playing in Greece right before he was drafted. He has since grown to 6-foot-11 and has bulked up to 242 pounds.
A year ago, Sports Illustrated named Antetokounmpo the fittest male athlete in all of sports. Not only has he worked on getting his body fit, but he has also worked hard at his game. At 6-foot-11, he’s the playmaker for the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo appreciates where he came from. He didn’t come from a lot of money, but he worked hard and was able to smile through the tough times. “You know, it was tough,” he said to CBS News in 2018 during a 60 Minutes segment. We didn’t have a lot of money. But we had a lot of happiness. So we wasn’t broke happiness-wise. When we were struggling back in the day, we were all together in one room, same room. We were having fun. We were smiling. There was some tough times.”
The Greek Freak says he can go the length of the court in six steps
During a 2018 episode of 60 Minutes, Giannis Antetokounmpo was featured and the topic turned to his athleticism. CBS’s Steve Kroft was doing the interview and he asked the Greek Freak how many steps he needs to go down the basketball court.
“The full level of the court?” Antetokounmpo asked, according to CBS News.
“Yes,” said Kroft.
“Six.” Antetokounmpo answered.
Kroft then asked how many steps from the foul line to the basket? “From the foul– one, just one,” Antetokounmpo said. “Maybe none. I can just jump from the foul line I think.”
Six steps from one end of the court to the other? The length of the court is 94 feet. That’s almost 16 feet per step. It sounds nearly impossible for that to happen, but if anyone can do it, it’s the Greek Freak.
