The Whiteboard: Giannis Antetokounmpo added 20 pounds of muscle, folks
By Ti Windisch
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s shooting is to be determined, but the Milwaukee Bucks superstar is an absolute unit this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is clearly tired of hearing questions about his 3-point shooting, and he’s done something about it. I mean, maybe Giannis can shoot now, who knows, but the Greek Freak is so damn bulked up now nobody’s going to have the courage to criticize him about his shooting anyway.
That tweet almost seems fake, so I did a little research. I can’t seem to find the official Bucks training camp roster from 2013, but this version on Wikipedia lists young Giannis at 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds. According to the latest Bucks roster released a few days ago, Antetokounmpo is currently 6-foot-11 and, yes, 242 pounds.
That’s a big jump in size, but that’s over several years. Turns out if you look at just a one year difference, Giannis’ yolking is even more impressive. According to the Bucks’ 2017-18 media guide, Giannis weighed 222 pounds at the start of last season. In about 12 months, he added something like 20 pounds of muscle.
Antetokounmpo had little to no problem scoring on anybody when he got into the paint. The problem for Giannis was getting down there. Now, with an extra 20 pounds on his frame, he should be able to get to pretty much wherever he wants to on the court.
Giannis’ unique combination of speed and strength made him nearly unguardable last season. Even without a reliable pull-up jumper to lean on, Giannis put up 26.9 points per game. Now he’s going to be even stronger, a change that could also help the Bucks’ anemic rebounding from the last several seasons.
The top of the Eastern Conference is still pretty formidable with a few different teams stepping up now that LeBron James is gone. Giannis and his Milwaukee Bucks will end up contending for the East’s Finals spot despite all of the stiff competition. The Greek Freak will not be denied, even if he isn’t a great shooter.
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