Milwaukee Bucks All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo reveals the time when he became a more coachable player. In his first game at the Madison Square Garden in 2015, the 19-year old Antetokounmpo's stellar performance hid something of far more value to his development.
Eric Nehm of The Athletic wrote about the Greek Freak's most memorable games at the MSG, including the time when then Bucks head coach Jason Kidd benched him for a purpose that became an important factor in the young forward's growth to a superstar-caliber player.
From Giannis:
At the moment, it didn’t feel great. I love being out there. I love helping my teammates win. I love playing minutes. I just love playing basketball. But it taught me a lesson. It taught me I needed to do a better job being coachable, listen to my teammates. Then, when the next game came, I played 150 percent harder. It made me play harder. It was almost like a lesson for me. I was 19 at the time.
It turned out that before his brilliant game in New York, Kidd benched Giannis during what could be a premier match-up with Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James. It was apparently a wise move for Kidd as he arguably hit two birds with one stone. The benching served both as motivation and lesson for the young 6-foot-11 combo forward.
Giannis would then carve out an impressive performance in New York as he put up 23 points and 9 rebounds in a winning effort against the Knicks. The Greek All-Star will have another chance to show out in MSG as the Bucks visit the Knicks in a Christmas Day match-up.
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