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Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has started to look at some of his fellow great stars in hopes to borrow bits of wisdom to enhance his NBA career,
The Greek Freak started off the season averaging more than 30 points per game, a bombastic beginning to what could likely be an MVP-worthy season at this year's end. Yet the Bucks talisman has observed how other MVP-caliber players have approached the regular season, learning to pace himself and peak at the right time in hopes to have enough in the tank for the moments that count.
Article Continues Below“I thought about how LeBron starts the season or Kawhi or all these guys, KD (Kevin Durant); have you ever seen how they start the season?” Giannis Antetokounmpo told Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Did you see the way I started the season? I was like, ‘I’m running through the f***ing wall.’ I’m just like, ‘AHHHHHHHHHH.’
“It’s like a marathon. People that have never run before, they’re like, ‘I gotta go as fast as I can.’ They’re running for 10 minutes and then they just get tired and they never get that energy. But the people that have been there before, they’re like, ‘This is a long race.’ They’re just going, steady, steady, steady, steady, steady, steady, steady and then they know when to accelerate, right? There’s a lot of that I’ve learned.”
Antetokounmpo was clearly gassed and frustrated with the glove-like defense of Kawhi Leonard, an even-keeled star that is notorious for saving the punch of a nitro boost for the fourth quarter, where he is known to clamp down on the opponent's best player and make plays down the stretch.
If Antetokounmpo can harness this bit of wisdom into his own game, it's likely that an NBA Finals bid is inevitable for him moving forward.
