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Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo profile
Drafted #15 in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Bucks
Height: 6'9" (206 cm)
Weight: 196 lbs (89 kg)
Position: PF
Hometown: Athens, Greece
Current Team: Bucks
Win - Loss: 3 - 2
Giannis Antetokounmpo at the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery

Articles

The Pro Perspective: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Jeremy Bauman
Jeremy Bauman
Dec 06, 2016, 02:34 pm
There have been prestigious labels and comparisons thrown around regarding the continued development of Giannis Antetokounmpo this season.

“Improved shooter,” isn't one of them - yet - especially if we're going by percentages from behind the arc, as Giannis has made just 11 of his 43 (25.5%) of his 3-point attempts.

At just 22-years old, Antetokounmpo is still gaining comfort with NBA range 3-pointers. He's attempting 2.3 threes per game, the highest mark of his NBA career thus far, after hitting 5 of 15 attempts in three games with the Greek national team this past summer.

Still - in spite of his current meager 3-point percentage - there is reason for Bucks fans (and Antetokounmpo fans in general) to believe he can become a better shooter with time, experience and instruction. After all, his free throw percentage has increased from 68.3% in his rookie season to 77.9% this season, while making a career-high 5.4 free throws per game.

If Giannis, a career 158/545 (29%) shooter from behind the arc in 344 games logged in our database (through all competitions he's played in), is going to improve it's going to take time. Here's a video interview with Antetokounmpo that focuses on his development as a shooter during his fourth campaign with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Revisiting Giannis Antetokounmpo (Scouting Video)

DraftExpress
DraftExpress
Mike Schmitz
Mike Schmitz
Feb 12, 2014, 11:12 am
One year ago, we discovered Giannis Antetokounmpo in a tiny gym in Athens, and were immediately taken aback by the significant talent this completely unknown raw prospect possessed. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Antetokounmpo (then known as Adetokunbo) was a citizenship-less 18-year old caught in the bureaucracy of Greek politics, known only to a handful of NBA scouts who were largely skeptical of the anonymous player's potential. Completely off the radar of anyone in the United States at the time, Giannis would go on to be selected 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, a move that was criticized harshly by some on draft night.



Fast forward one year, and Giannis is now viewed as one of the most promising young prospects in the NBA, after unexpectedly seeing significant playing time for the team with the worst record in the league. He will compete in the NBA's Rising Stars Event (formerly known as the Rookie-Sophomore game) and the Skills Challenge at All-Star weekend in the upcoming days.

To celebrate our one year anniversary of seeing the “Greek Freek” for the first time, we revisit some of the footage we first brought to light from the Greek second division a year ago, and compare it with what we're now seeing in the NBA on a nightly basis to evaluate how Giannis is progressing as a basketball player.



For comparison's sake, here's the video we produced on Giannis one year ago after seeing him for the first time in Greece:



And our first interview:

2013 adidas EuroCamp: Day One

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Jun 08, 2013, 04:08 pm
Taking a short trip to Jesolo with a hoard of NBA scouts (probably around 50), we were able to take in a U20 game between Croatia and Greece featuring highly touted Greek small forward Giannis Adetokunbo (name has sicne been changed to Giannis Antetokounmpo), playing in his first ever game outside of Greece after finally obtaining his passport (he in fact now has two after also receiving a Nigerian passport).

Starting at the power forward spot but regularly bringing the ball up the floor, he turned in a solid, albeit unspectacular performance, finishing with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists by our count while putting many of his strengths and weaknesses on display for those in attendance.

Acting as a facilitator for his team in the half court and making a number of impressive plays in the open floor, Adetokunbo didn't look out of place competing with players one year his senior in most cases, but his lack of experience was evident. He had a number of rebounds ripped away from him, didn't always finish strong around the basket, and airballed a 3-pointer on one occasion--but later smoothly knocked down another. Directing his teammates as Greece ran its sets, Adetokunbo has a unique feel for the game considering his age and athleticism, and is undoubtedly a special talent, but is definitely still in the early stages of his development.

All in all Giannis probably didn't impact his draft stock significantly in either direction. People who liked him probably saw what they needed to see, while those that didn't surely weren't swayed by what he showed. A fairly substantial contingent of the 50 or so NBA scouts started to file out with 6-8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, which can't be considered a great sign. The stop and start nature of the game and overall poor officiating surely didn't help matters, but Adetokunbo will need to show more in the next two days if he wants to definitively boost his stock into the top-20.

NBA Draft Prospect of the Week: Giannis Adetokunbo

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmitz
Mike Schmitz
Feb 26, 2013, 01:29 pm
Scouting report by Jonathan Givony. Video Analysis by Mike Schmitz

Fleeing unrest in their native country of Nigeria, the Adetokunbo (editor's note: Greek authorities later changed his name to Antetokounmpo when he finally received his citizenship) family emigrated to Greece in 1992 in search of a new beginning. The couple eventually settled into the Sepolia neighborhood outside of Athens, a suburb with a considerable migrant population. Working different jobs for the past twenty-one years, they were never recognized by the Greek authorities as actual citizens, but fully intending on making the country their home. That included doing whatever they could to assimilate their four sons into Greek society, hence their decision to give them Greek names. Unlike the US, being born in Greece does not guarantee citizenship; while registering their children with the Nigerian embassy could mean deportation should they happen to be stopped by authorities

The Adetokunbos gave birth to four children in Greece, Thanasis (who stands 6-7), in July of 1992, Giannis (6-9) in December 1994, Costas (6-3) in 1997, and Alex (5-9) in 2001. Their first son, Francis (6-7), was born in 1984 and is a professional soccer player in Nigeria. None of the Adetokunbos have received Greek citizenship, only being able to attend public school thanks to their birth certificates.

Thanasis and Giannis began to play basketball casually together around 2003. As fate would have it, the two were spotted one day by Spyros Veliniatis, a coach from Filathlitikos academy who is an avid cycling enthusiast and happened to biking by their local basketball court. Veliniatis was immediately taken aback by the immense physical gifts the children displayed, and invited the two to join the academy, the only club in Athens that does not charge a membership fee to participate. Considering the family's financial background, this was fortunate.

Video Analysis:



Thanasis and Giannis enrolling in the academy coincided with the team progressing rapidly up the Greek minor league system, being promoted six times in ten years from the D regional division of Athens all the way up to A2, the second league of Greece. Filathlitikos now finds themselves on the doorstep of A1, the top league in Greece, as they are in first place with a 14-3 record more than halfway through the season.

Most of Filathlitikos's success has come thanks to the homegrown talent they developed and integrated onto their roster over the years, with head coach Takis Zivas coaching both the club's senior and U18 team since its inception 15 years ago. Many of the club's young players are the sons and daughters of immigrants from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Albania and Nigeria.

Thanks to the Adetokunbo's arrival, Greek basketball might have the most interesting prospect the country has seen in many years on their hands. Despite never having played for any of Greece's youth (U16, U18, U20) national teams in an official capacity, Giannis has drawn considerable interest as of late both in his home country and abroad, with eight NBA teams already having traveled to see him. An invitation to the senior national team is reportedly in the works for this summer, if his citizenship issues can be resolved of course.

After watching a considerable amount of film from his play in the second division and U18 league, we decided to take a trip out to Athens ourselves to see what all the fuss was about. It turned out to be very valuable use of our time.

Adetokunbo stands out first and foremost thanks to the tremendous physical profile he brings to the table, reminding somewhat of a Nicolas Batum or Thabo Sefolosha on first glance. He has great size at 6-9, 196 pounds, to go along with a developed upper body and an overall terrific frame that should fill out considerably in time. His wingspan has reportedly been measured at 7-3, but perhaps most interesting is the size of his hands, as he's able to palm the ball like a grapefruit which helps him out considerably as a passer, ball-handler and finisher.



Exceptionally smooth and fluid, Adetokunbo still hasn't reached his full potential as an athlete, which makes sense if you consider he turned 18 three months ago and has grown 8 cm (a little over three inches) in the past ten months—and still might not be done growing. He's still working on his balance on the defensive end, and isn't an incredibly explosive leaper—something that could change as his lower body strength improves.

It's popular to say that a prospect--particularly an obscure one-- “plays every position on the floor,” but in the game we watched in Greece, that was indeed the case. The competition level, as you can see in the video scouting report above, is indeed nothing to write home about, but it's difficult not to be taken aback by the incredibly versatile skill-set Adetokunbo brings to the table at 6-9.

The tallest player on his team, Adetokunbo started the game off at the power forward position, but played on the perimeter almost exclusively. Similar to the way Kyle Anderson is used at UCLA, he initiates a lot of his team's offense in the half-court and regularly rebounds the ball and takes it coast to coast, showing fantastic body control. He's an extremely smooth ball-handler and a surprisingly adept passer, looking extremely unselfish and very focused on getting his teammates involved. He's capable of driving left or right and reads defenses far better than you'd expect considering his age and size, as he shows great sparks of creativity and smarts that make it easy to envision him developing into a point forward type as his career progresses.

Adetokunbo's long strides and great length allow him to finish his moves in a variety of ways around the basket. He's largely right-hand dependent, though, and will need to continue to improve his strength and explosiveness to finish over the top of better defenses than he's facing at the moment.

Adetokunbo's perimeter shooting ability is not as refined as his passing and ball-handling skills. While his shooting mechanics are relatively consistent, and he's capable of making shots with both his feet set and off the dribble, he sports a low release point and is not a knock down shooter when left open. He's making 34% of his 3-pointers on the season in A2 thus far and 70% of his free throw attempts, so there's definitely something to build off here.



Defensively is where Adetokunbo might have the best potential considering the superior size and length he brings to the table at his position—likely small forward. He's not very consistent in this area yet, as he lacks significant experience, is not physical enough keeping a body on opponents and fighting through screens, and plays too upright on the perimeter. The instincts he displays here are very intriguing though, as he shows good anticipation on the defensive glass and is capable of making his presence felt in the passing lanes and as a shot-blocker.

The biggest thing holding Adetokunbo back at the moment is his lack of experience. He's a late bloomer who did not have the benefit of growing up playing against other top international talents his age in the various FIBA competitions over the years. Similar to many young prospects still growing into their frames, he's not incredibly physical at the moment, and is not immune from showing questionable decision making in the half-court. He is at times so focused on getting his teammates involved that he can be appear to lack somewhat of a killer instinct, and his average perimeter shooting ability and defensive prowess could surely become more of an issue against higher level competition if he does not improve in these areas.

Additionally, there are some question marks about his true position and ideal role on the floor against senior players. While the concept of a 6-9 point guard sounds great in theory, there are very few teams and coaches that actually play that way, which means he will have to continue to improve his ability to operate off the ball as well.

Adetokunbo's talent was recognized by first division Spanish team Zaragoza in December when they elected to sign him to a four year contract. He will move to the ACB next season—barring complications with his passport—but reportedly has comfortable NBA out clauses at the end of each year, including this summer. Adetokunbo's agent, Giorgos Dimitropoulos, says that he will almost certainly be entering his name in the 2013 NBA draft to gauge his prospects, and that there is an “80-90% chance” he will stay in. While nothing is set in stone at the moment, NBA teams likely wouldn't mind leaving a talent like Adetokunbo in Europe for a couple of years to develop on a team like Zaragoza that is known for working very well with young players.

Adetokunbo has drawn interest from both the Nike Hoop Summit and adidas EuroCamp in Treviso from what we've been told, and would strongly consider attending if invited, though his unresolved passport issues make it difficult to ascertain if he'd be able to do so. In the meantime, eight NBA teams (including two General Managers) have been out to Athens to see him, and it's likely that many more will follow over the next few months.

His talent is readily seen on first glance as soon as he steps foot on the court, but there's obviously still a long ways to go for him to translate that into production at the highest levels of basketball. Regardless, this is as unique a story as you'll find in this year's draft class and it will be fascinating to monitor his progress both in the short-term and as he develops over the next few seasons.

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