Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo play completely different games. The former stands just 6'3 with average athletic tools but the greatest shooter of all-time, constantly leveraging that threat to create easy scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates even when he's not splashing triples. The latter, meanwhile, is a one-of-one physical presence in NBA history, easily compensating for his lack of a reliable jumper by constantly putting seemingly unstoppable pressure on the rim in both the open floor and halfcourt.
When it comes to playing styles, superstars don't get much different than Curry and Antetokounmpo. In terms of the daily approach to their craft, though, there are plenty of similarities between the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks franchise players—just ask New York Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo.
“Steph and Giannis have a lot of differences obviously in how they play the game, but the similarity is how they approach every single day and how they want to be the best in the NBA and how they want to be the best person on your team,” DiVincenzo said on The Roommates podcast, presented by Playmaker HQ. “The gap between him [Steph] and the next guy in terms of pure work is insane and I was only around it for not even 12 months. Giannis I spent four years with him and every single day he was in the gym, even days where you have blackout days where no one is allowed in the gym he’s still there so I think you know it’s a credit to them how much time and effort they put in and playing with them is so much fun. It’s like one of those things you get to tell your kids after all the basketball stuff is over.”
No player has had a better front-row seat to what makes Curry and Antetokounmpo great than DiVincenzo.
He signed a four-year, $50 million deal with the Knicks in free agency last summer after rehabbing his value in 2022-23 with the Warriors following multiple seasons marred by injury. The sixth-year guard spent the first three-and-a-half seasons of his career with the Bucks, once considered a long-term fixture alongside Antetokounmpo before injuries sidelined him for Milwaukee's 2021 championship run. The Bucks traded him to the Sacramento Kings midway through 2022-23.
No player makes it to basketball's highest level without a diligent work ethic. Still, layers to training and preparation definitely exist, a humbling reality Donte DiVincenzo was lucky enough to witness while playing with two of the best players ever. It's clearly rubbed off on him, too. DiVincenzo has been a driving force behind New York's success in 2023-24, his leap into a high-volume, high-accuracy three-point shooter looming extremely large to basketball's 10th-best offense.
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