Shaquille O'Neal has a hard time pronouncing Giannis Antetokounmpo's name. Even though Giannis has become one of the most prominent players in the league with the Milwaukee Bucks, Shaq still hasn't learn how to pronounce his last name.
During TNT's “Inside the NBA” episode on Tuesday, Charles Barkley challenged Shaq to pronounce Antetokounmpo's name correctly, and if he can do it, he'll donate $10,000 to a charity of Giannis' choice. Surprisingly, The Diesel was able to pronounce the name of the Bucks superstar correctly in just his first try.
“Now that Giannis is Defensive Player of the Year I gotta start showing him some respect,” Shaq said jokingly.
“That man is Defensive Player of the Year now, I got to show that man some respect” –@SHAQ pic.twitter.com/2Js3bJzde0
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) August 26, 2020
Giannis Antetokounmpo made history on Tuesday as he was named the 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, beating out Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert. The Greek Freak, who is only 24 years old, put up big numbers defensively this season, averaging 13.6 rebounds, 1.0 block and 1.0 steal per game.
“His commitment to defending, his commitment to winning is beyond incredible,” Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said, per USA Today. “He impacts the game with his blocked shots, his rebounding, his ability to guard all five positions, his chase-down blocks, his challenge to do everything defensively. His talent is beyond special and combined with his team’s it’s made for a very special moment.”
The 25-year-old forward has played phenomenal during the playoffs thus far, averaging a career high 31.3 points to go along with 15.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 32.5 minutes in four games.
Antetokounmpo will be seeking to lead the Bucks to their second straight conference finals. They are almost done with the Orlando Magic, leading the first-round series 3-1. Should they win game 5, Milwaukee will face the Miami Heat in the second round.
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