Giannis Antetokounmpo: ‘I’m not as talented as Steph…KD…so I f—–g work as hard as I can’

Peter Dewey
3 Min Read
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo explained why he works so hard to be the best NBA player he can be.

The two-time league MVP compared himself to Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant, saying that he isn’t as talented as them, which is why he works so much on his game.

Bucks fans have to love this mentality from Antetokounmpo, who has turned himself into one of the NBA’s best players over the last several seasons.

A first-round pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Antetokounmpo slowly got better over his first three NBA seasons, growing into his lengthy frame and putting on a ton of muscle in the process.

The Bucks star broke out in his fourth season, making his first All-Star team and averaging 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Since that season, Antetokounmpo has made seven straight All-Star teams and has been named to an All-NBA team six times.

He’s on track to make another All-NBA team in the 2022-23 season, and he may even have a shot to win the league’s MVP award with the Bucks currently leading the Eastern Conference.

This season, the “Greek Freak” is averaging 31.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the field and 28.4 percent from beyond the arc.

He’s a dominant two-way player at this stage in his career, and he’s proven that he can lead a team to an NBA title as well.

After getting knocked out in the second round of the playoffs in the 2019-20 season in the NBA’s Orlando, Fla. bubble, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to an NBA championship the following season.

He helped the team beat the Phoenix Suns, winning four straight games after the team fell behind 2-0 in the series. Antetokounmpo’s Game 6 performance was an all-time showing in the NBA Finals, as he scored 50 points and added 14 rebounds to close out the Suns in the series.

Curry and Durant are extremely gifted natural scorers with amazing shooting ability, but they don’t have some of the physical gifts that Antetokounmpo has.

It is still clear that the Bucks star has worked tirelessly at improving his game, and it has paid off with a ton of accolades. He will try to add to that in the 2022-23 season with Milwaukee looking like one of the best teams in the NBA.

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Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball, football and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.