Giannis Antetokounmpo has gone from rising star to household name
LOS ANGELES - Last year when he made his first appearance in the NBA All-Star Game, Giannis Antetokounmpo was still something of a curiosity.
NBA players, coaches and hardcore fans knew of Antetokounmpo's versatile skills, rare ability to run the point at nearly 7 feet tall and affect the game at both ends for the Milwaukee Bucks. He had a loyal following in Milwaukee and his native Greece — enough to earn him a starting spot on the all-star team — but outside of that relatively large and dedicated inner circle, Antetokounmpo's star hadn't reached supernova status.
Now, set to start his second All-Star Game in as many years Sunday night at the Staples Center, Antetokounmpo undeniably has reached that point.
Antetokounmpo's name, which has gone from unpronounceable to household status, is entrenched in the MVP conversation. He owns a long-term contract with Nike with a new signature shoe expected to come out later this year, and he has become a must-see attraction as the Bucks travel around the country.
“It’s over my imagination," Antetokounmpo said Saturday during media day at the Los Angeles Convention Center. "I always had a feeling maybe I can make it in the NBA, but I never thought I was going to be 23 years old, be in my second time in the All-Star (Game), having a chance to win the MVP, carrying a team on my back — that’s over my imagination.
"But I accept it as a person, I accept it as a player and I do on a daily basis whatever I can to get better.”
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He's not just on the scene, he's making a scene just about everywhere he goes. In cities across the country, Bucks fans — either sucked in by Antetokounmpo's combination of skill and charm or rejuvenated by it — have flocked to games wearing the jersey of their hero. In the process, they've made Antetokounmpo's jersey the fourth best-selling in the NBA, according to a league release in January.
And it's not just Bucks fans.
Bartenders in Atlanta checked their schedules to see if they could call out of work the next day to get a glimpse of Antetokounmpo on his lone visit to Georgia's capital. An Uber driver in New Orleans still can't pronounce Antetokounmpo, but she waxed poetic about the exploits of the Greek Freak and mentioned that even though she's a Pelicans fan she always stops flipping channels when she catches a glimpse of a Bucks game on national TV.
Antetokounmpo never gets booed during pregame introductions regardless of where the Bucks are playing. Part of that is because no matter where the Bucks are, Antetokounmpo's large Greek legion of fans shows out in full force, with Greek flags in tow.
Fans numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands, stayed long after the final buzzer to greet and sing with him in Greek in Cleveland in November, starting a tradition that has continued in Boston, Toronto, Brooklyn and of course in Milwaukee. In Boston, Milwaukee's game was part of a scheduled Greek night, which made for an unusually friendly atmosphere for the road team.
“You know what, it’s actually great for him," Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry said. "But more than that he’s willing to take the time to meet with all of them and that’s why people continue to show up. He actually keeps coming out after games and there are not many people who will do that.”
Being accessible to fans is just part of who Antetokounmpo is. He relishes these newfound postgame opportunities to interact with fans, but those are just an extension of how he normally handles himself. He's visible in the Milwaukee area and is happy to interact with fans during his daily life.
In November, Antetokounmpo held an autograph signing at Pick'n Save in Hales Corners, drawing a line of fans that snaked through the entire store. Unsurprisingly, that meant there were more people than he had time to interact with during his scheduled one-hour appearance, but he stayed to get through the line and send everyone home happy.
In addition to personal appearances, Antetokounmpo has been active on social media, often giving fans a glance at his life via periodic live streams on Instagram, his platform of choice, where he had 2.3 million followers. Sometimes that means a trip to the doghouse — which is where he landed after his Valentine's Day stream that referenced his Greek Freak nickname to talk about his skills in a romantic context — but more often than not it's a positive experience for both him and his fans.
"A lot of people can’t watch games, a lot of people can’t see me in person and that’s a way to interact with them and show them who I am and show them behind the scenes stuff," Antetokounmpo said.
Last season, Antetokounmpo was on the rise. Now, he's still rising, but he's cracked the upper echelon of the league. Building off a strong start to this season, he's established himself in the MVP conversation along with the likes of LeBron James, James Harden and Stephen Curry.
“I think now he’s like a top-five guy," Lasry said of his team's signature star, who is second in the NBA in scoring, averaging 27.8 points per game. "I think last year was his coming-out party and this year was him proving it to everybody."
That was further underscored when Antetokounmpo — not James — won the player vote among Eastern Conference players. While the process may be flawed considering some players take their vote more seriously than others, that one-two ranking represents an exceptional level of respect that's been building in the league for years.
“I tell you what, I’ve loved him — and I hope I don’t get fined for tampering by saying I like somebody — but I’ve liked him since he first came in the league," Toronto Raptors coach and Team LeBron coach Dwane Casey said, referring to Magic Johnson being fined for his recent glowing words about Antetokounmpo. "His growth pattern, his trajectory is going straight up. … We play them right after the break and that’s not something I’m looking forward to. ...
"If you’re a fan of basketball, you’re a fan of how he plays."
Golden State forward Draymond Green, who will be playing with Antetokounmpo on Team Stephen on Sunday night, has been impressed by Antetokounmpo since the first time he watched him play. Green was watching film ahead of the 2013 NBA draft and took note of Antetokounmpo's versatile package of skills.
"You could kind of see then that the talent he was playing against then was garbage, like bad, but you could see that he was just so much better than them that some of the stuff he was doing, you could just see that this kid’s got a chance to be good," Green said. "… To see kind of the way that he’s gone in the league from coming in with so much potential and just being like, ‘Man, that kid’s got potential,’ to where he’s at now, it’s special to watch."
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George, who before this season saw Antetokounmpo's grind close up as the Indiana Pacers and Bucks squared off four times a year, recognized Antetokounmpo's trajectory because he followed a similar path.
“The niche for him, well for both of us, was defense," George said. "That’s how we stood out is playing defense and then everything else just came on its own. We both had the same, I think, start — getting on the floor playing defense, trying to figure out offensively how to score, how to be productive. But he’s definitely had a huge rise, being a household name, being an all-star starter. I can definitely say he came a long way.”
From defensive effort came various offensive skills. Antetokounmpo pulled down rebounds and started running the floor, becoming nearly unstoppable on the break. Then he improved his half-court scoring and passing, transitioning into a point guard.
Now, he's become one of the league's premier scorers inside the three-point arc, leading the league with 515 two-pointers — 43 ahead of second-place Anthony Davis of the Pelicans.
All of that improvement is a testament to Antetokounmpo's well-known work ethic. He continually impresses people in the Bucks organization with the amount of time he spends in the gym, both during the season and in the off-season.
And while other NBA players aren't there with him, they see the results.
For Green, who as a former second-round pick understands the uphill battle to make a name for yourself, the hard work is what stands out.
“It happens over the course of years," Green said. "You see a guy continue to get better and better, that means they’re working. Obviously, you can just see his body and tell how he’s worked. Came in this small (Green said, holding his fingers close together) and all of a sudden he’s starting to fill his frame out a lot. You are going to respect that more than anything.”
That work ethic showed in last season's All-Star Game. While some other players weren't always taking things seriously, Antetokounmpo was picking up his man full-court and bringing a level of intensity that's uncommon in All-Star Games.
While it might have rubbed some the wrong way, Curry appreciated the statement it made.
“That was definitely on my mind when I was picking teams in the draft and trying to put together the winning team," said Curry, who according to an ESPN report chose Antetokounmpo with his first pick. "Giannis was getting ready before practice today, getting a stretch in … getting a little soft-tissue rub-down and all that kind of stuff and Coach (Mike) D’Antoni walked up and was like, ‘Does he know we’re actually not really practicing?’
"I like that about him. He takes everything he does seriously and that’s cool.”
How Antetokounmpo handles Sunday's game is yet to be seen, but everything he's shown during his five NBA seasons points to a repeat of last year. And when it comes to the rest of the season, Antetokounmpo still plans to keep his star — and that of the Bucks — rising.
He's broken into the MVP conversation and become a household name, but Antetokounmpo still doesn't believe he's anywhere close to his ceiling or the goals he's chasing.
“Just being a winner, eventually," Antetokounmpo said when asked about his next step. "Everybody that’s sitting in here wants to win a championship, that’s why we play. Hopefully one day I can achieve that.”
