There is no way Giannis is guarding the best player on the other team and just improvising.
During the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Weekend media availability, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo said something interesting.
Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP who won the NBA Finals MVP in 2021, made a bold claim. In a press conference, he asserted that he does not watch basketball.
It’s probably not a great look for the league to have those words come out of the mouth of someone who is indisputably one of the faces of the NBA. But as he continued his quote, it became increasingly clear that it was nearly an impossible claim from Antetokounmpo.
Here was the full quote (via Sports on Max):
“I just, in general, do not watch basketball. So stats, highlights, how people play, I have no idea. And I love it, you know? I love when I go to the game, I have no idea who I’m playing and what they do.”
It is fully believable that Antetokounmpo, who has a wife and three kids, doesn’t sit at home and watch NBA League Pass during his free time. He has other priorities, including raising a family.
Over several years, we have heard Antetokounmpo describe his “obsession” with basketball. That is one of the words most often used to describe his love for the game.
For him, though, perhaps he is trying to keep a balance between his life at work and his life at home. He has said as much in the past:
“We’re not talking about basketball in this house. This household, we don’t talk about basketball. You know why? Because the way my brain operates, all I think about is basketball. So I don’t need to talk more. I’m going to drive myself crazy, right? … I’m going to want to escape it. So I feel like I’m at my best when I go back to my house, I watch my shows, I focus on myself, I focus on my breathing, I focus on what I eat. So when I come here, that allows me to give 100 percent in what I do.”
That sounds like a healthy way of approaching his career, especially if he knows he gets too intense. But the idea that he just has no idea who he is playing against or what their tendencies are before he steps on the court is patently absurd.
Antetokounmpo has won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year and he was selected to the NBA’s First-Team All-Defense four consecutive seasons. The responsibility of regularly guarding the best player on the other team is often his responsibility.
Even if Milwaukee’s defense isn’t as dominant as it was when Jrue Holiday was on the roster, Antetokounmpo isn’t just walking on the court and winging it against other superstars.
These things are discussed and reviewed during mandatory film sessions with the team throughout the season. So even if the eight-time NBA All-Star does not watch as many games as your typical fan, he knows who he is guarding and what they can do on the court.
