Over the weekend, alongside his brother Thanasis, Giannis Antetokounmpo was interviewed by OTEtv, a Greek television service.
The pair discussed several subjects surrounding their life in the NBA, and in Thanasis’ case, attempting to establish himself in a regular rotation spot.
Something that really stood out in the interview was their gushing admiration of Kobe Bryant. As translated by Andrew Ragousis of Brew Hoop, Giannis recalled his feelings when he met the NBA legend:
“What can I say? Kobe Bryant is one of the best players ever and to have a few minutes in private talking about basketball and what I need to do was very important,” Giannis said. “Thing is, when I see basketball players and famous ones I'm not usually nervous or shocked, but when I saw Kobe I literally was shocked. It was the second time I played against him, but the first time I didn't speak with him. This time, if it wasn't for Jason Kidd telling me to calm down, to talk with Kobe and ask him whatever I wanted, I would still be there like a little kid gawking at him.”
Out of all the advice that Kobe gave Giannis, it seems as though there was one specific message that resonated the most with the athletic young talent:
“I remember in that meeting, when Kobe was talking he said to me, ‘My friend, when I was working I was working for eight hours each day, I was shooting a thousand shots per day.’ When I was hearing him saying those words, looking into my eyes I knew that he did those things, I knew it immediately,” Antetokounmpo said. “You could feel that it wasn't him saying bullshit just to impress you. He pointed out also how important a summer is for a player. He said in the summer I need to work as hard as possible and be as exhausted as possible and get used to it, so when I am playing during the regular season the exhaustion wouldn't be visible.”
Last season, Giannis put up 16.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game; he will be hoping to build on that during the 2016-2017 season after being moved into more of a point-forward role. Bucks fans will hope that he takes the advice that he receives from Bryant seriously to help take his abilities to an even higher level.
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