A Eurostep from Milwaukee to Brooklyn measures 885 miles.
When Giannis Antetokounmpo’s long-striding journey takes him to the rim at the Barclays Center on Saturday, don’t be surprised if what happens next is a showstopper.
The 20-year-old Milwaukee Bucks forward will participate in the 2015 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night. He will join fellow sophomores Victor Oladipo (Orlando) and Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn), as well as rookie Zach LaVine (Minnesota), to compete in a dunk contest that will have an old-school feel to commemorate the 30th year of the fan-favorite event.
Antetokounmpo will be the third player in Bucks franchise history – following Paul Pressey (1987) and Ray Allen (1997) – to take part in the contest, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday and be televised live on TNT.
“The Greek Freak” will also represent the World in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge, which will take place at the Barclays Center at 7 p.m. CT Friday and also be carried by TNT.
Antetokounmpo is averaging 12.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.0 blocks while shooting 50.7 percent from the field through 53 games of his second NBA season. He was thrilled when he got his invitation to dunk in The Big Apple on All-Star Weekend.
“I was excited and happy,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s something new for me. When I was young and I could dream a bit, I could see myself participating in the slam dunk contest. I’ve always wanted to experience that.
“I’m just going to go there and try to have fun with my family and relax a little bit, get my mind right. I’m looking forward to experiencing everything with my family.”
If Giannis has a game plan, he’s not revealing it.
“Everyone’s giving me suggestions,” he said. “I just don’t want to think about it. I want to focus on our games. I’ll get there Thursday, and the dunk contest will be Saturday, so I’ll have two or three days to think about it then.”
Antetokounmpo will be appearing in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge for the second consecutive season.
Joining him on the World squad will be Bojan Bogdanović (Brooklyn), Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland), Gorgui Dieng (Minnesota), Danté Exum (Utah), Rudy Gobert (Utah), Nikola Mirotić (Chicago), Kostas Papanikolaou (Houston), Dennis Schröder (Atlanta) and Andrew Wiggins (Minnesota).
Representing the U.S. will be Trey Burke (Utah), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Detroit), Robert Covington (Philadelphia), Zach LaVine (Minnesota), Shabazz Muhammad (Minnesota), Nerlens Noel (Philadelphia), Victor Oladipo (Orlando), Elfrid Payton (Orlando), Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn) and Cody Zeller (Charlotte).
Antetokounmpo still has vivid memories of his first brush with All-Star Weekend last February.
“I saw Magic Johnson,” Antetokounmpo said. “He’s a really nice guy, smiling all the time. He was so easygoing, and it was nice talking to him. He didn’t have any advice for me. He was one of the judges for the slam dunk contest, and I just stopped by and said hello.
“It was nice to spend time with a lot of the players in the league, like LeBron James and Kevin Durant. It was nice being around them and seeing how they are.”
Antetokounmpo’s Bucks teammates continued to be amazed at the leaps and bounds he has made as an NBA player in such a short time frame.
Rookie forward Johnny O’Bryant was one of the first to form an impression. He didn’t know much at all about Antetokounmpo until the 2014 NBA Draft approached.
“I really didn’t watch the Bucks at all last year,” said O’Bryant, who was playing for Louisiana State University at the time. “You really don’t get a lot of TV exposure.
“I remember coming to my draft workout here and asking some of the guys, ‘What is he, like a power forward or more of a center? He’s 6-11.’ They said, ‘No, he plays the 2.’ I was like, ‘That’s crazy.’ I remember one of the guys saying that he still has a long ways to go and he still had some development to do, so I really didn’t think too much about it after my first time here.”
O’Bryant’s eyes were opened during the summer.
“I got a chance to play with Giannis in the summer league,” O’Bryant said. “I saw how long he is and how skilled he is and I thought, ‘Yeah, this guy’s pretty good, especially at 19.’ Just watching him this year has been amazing – how far he’s come since I met him. He definitely has a chance to be one of the best players in this league.
“He’s a great kid, too. He’s funny. He brings a lot of good energy to the team. The guys really like him.”
Kenyon Martin, whom the Bucks signed for the balance of the 2014-15 season on Jan. 29, is in his 15th NBA season, so he has seen a lot of players come and go. The 37-year-old forward/center expressed amazement at what he has seen from Antetokounmpo during his brief time here.
“The sky’s the limit for him,” Martin said. “In just the short time I’ve been here, he’s gotten better. He works. He works extremely hard. I’m happy for him. He’s put himself in a good position to be successful.
“What he’s doing is a testament to how hard he’s worked. And he’s still young. Every time he does something different out there, I think, ‘In another two years, this kid’s going to be amazing.’”
Like most of the Bucks, Martin has had his share of Giannis “wow moments.”
“Almost every Eurostep is amazing,” Martin said. “He can get from one side of the paint to another with one step. From the 3-point line, he can start at one side of the paint and end up on the other. That’s amazing. His length is amazing, but I’m even more amazed at the size of his hands. They’re huge.”
Three of the qualities Martin has seen in Antetokounmpo that separate him from his contemporaries are his work ethic, his quest to learn and his humility.
“Those things can take him to a whole different level,” Martin said. “That’s what you need these days – kids who are willing to work and humble themselves and are willing to listen and be taught. I don’t think a lot of kids have that.
“I think that’s him not being from the United States. A lot of the kids here today have had a silver spoon in their mouths, so to speak. From an early age, everyone has told them how great they are. But with him coming from overseas, being so young and have to work and adjust, he’s put the time in to learn the NBA game. That’s only going to increase his ability to go out and produce on a night-in, night-out basis.”
Antetokounmpo has reached out to a number of his teammates and coaches for advice, but he didn’t need to approach Martin.
“He doesn’t have to pick my brain,” Martin said. “I’ll speak mine. If I see something, I’m always telling him something I think I can do. If he has an advantage against his man, I’ll tell him. No matter what it is, I’m always voicing my opinion.”
Other Bucks were eager to share their opinions of Antetokounmpo.
“He’s getting a lot better,” guard O.J. Mayo said. “We’re asking a lot from the young guy. He’s starting at the small forward position. Sometimes he goes to the 4. He’s played the 5 a little bit. He guards some of the better players in the post at times, and at other times he guards some of the better players out on the perimeter.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say he’s a 7, because he’s getting better every day. You can see the growth. He’s learning, and he wants to get better. His issue is sometimes you can’t rush, sometimes you can’t slow down. It’s all about time.
“The game is slowing down for him. He’s getting better every day, picking up on little things, gaining more confidence in his jump shot and his post-up game. His thing is time. Next week he’ll be a better player than he is today.”
Mayo looks forward to the dunk contest.
“‘The Greek Freak,’ I’m pretty sure he’s ready,” Mayo said. “He’s just in his own world when it comes to dunking. He can almost do anything with the size of his hands, his length, and how long his arms are. It’ll be exciting to watch him and see how he does.”
Antetokounmpo was named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Feb. 2-8. He averaged 19.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 blocks and shot 63.3 percent from the field in leading the Bucks to a 3-1 record during the week. His week included games of 25 points and six boards versus the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 4 and 27 points and 15 rebounds at Houston on Feb. 6.
Guard Brandon Knight said Antetokounmpo’s breakout has been the product of a simple approach.
“It’s being patient and playing to his strengths,” Knight said. “If he does that, he's going to be a tough player and continue to get better and work on his weaknesses. When you play to your strengths, you maximize your game.”
Antetokounmpo’s improving jump shot has been a vital component in his emergence.
“It’s big, because it allows his defender to come up and feel that he needs to play him instead of just sagging off,” Knight said. “If he can make, not 20 of them, but one or two of them and make that defender uncomfortable, it’ll open up the rest of the floor for him as far as getting to the rim and creating for himself and other guys.
“He works on that shot. We just don’t want him to hesitate. I you catch it and shoot it, we love it. If he continues to play to his strengths, he’s going to be a great player and continue to improve and be a big part of what we’re doing with the Bucks.”
Guard Jerryd Bayless appreciates the work ethic that has paved the way to Antetokounmpo’s improvement.
“He’s a hard worker,” Bayless said. “He comes back at night because he wants to be good. All of the accolades that are coming to him are well-deserved. Obviously he’s playing at a high level.
“I know what he’s done and what he’s capable of doing, so nothing is necessarily wowing me anymore. He’s a special player and a unique player because of his body and skill set. He has attributes that you can’t teach. Hopefully he continues to work hard. If he does that, the sky’s the limit.”
NBA coaches taking notice
As Giannis Antetokounmpo’s NBA career unfolds, more and more NBA coaches are giving their rave reviews. Here is what a few of them have had to say recently:
Jason Kidd, Milwaukee Bucks:
“He has shown that he can be an All-Star in this league. When you look at his numbers, he has been consistent offensively and defensively. It’s just a matter of time for him to be one of those players that will be in the game and be looked upon as one of the best players in this league. In a short amount of time, his work ethic and the time he spends working on his game and studying the game is starting to show.”
Byron Scott, Los Angeles Lakers:
“He can be a difference-maker. He is special. When you look at the skill level he has, the way he can handle the ball, the way he can pass it, the things he can do offensively, he has a freak nature about him on the court that is undeniable. The guy is 20 years old, and it seems like when he stretches his arms out, he can touch baseline to baseline. He is that long. If he continues to develop, I think they have something special.”
Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics:
“Well, he grows every three minutes. He is unique. His length, I mean everybody talks about length as a buzzword in basketball, but then there’s him or a couple of guys like him. There’s not very many. He’s got a chance to be really special. I think everybody that watches him knows that. Offensively, obviously his ability to drive. He can face up and shoot. Then defensively, that’s what jumps off the page to me right now.”