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Indiana Pacers small forward Thaddeus Young says Milwaukee Bucks superstar swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo is the only player in the NBA he has to watch film and prepare three or four days in advance for.
Antetokounmpo, who is a finalist for the MVP award this season, is one of the most unstoppable forces we have in the game today despite not having a reliable perimeter game. The Bucks had the best record in the league during the regular season thanks to Giannis' stellar play.
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“But when you wake up and know you’ve got that type of matchup with him – I was telling [Pacers center Myles Turner] before we played the Bucks one game that, ‘I’m gonna be honest with you, this is probably the only guy I’ve got to sit here and watch film and prepare three or four days in advance for. [laughs].’ Just simply because, he attacks you and he attacks you in so many different ways,” Young told Michael Pina of SB Nation.
“You have to figure out what you’re gonna give up—which is probably the jump shot, obviously—but the space that you do give up, he eats that space up. And he tries to overpower and outmatch you, and outphysical you. So you have to have some type of strength and play closer to him than the average guy who you think can’t shoot, because he eats up so much space.”
Antetokounmpo averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists during the regular season while shooting 57.8 percent from the floor and 72.9 percent from the free-throw line. The Bucks won 60 games and are currently in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The rest of the league is hoping Giannis never develops a consistent jump shot, because when he does, the NBA will be his for the taking.
