Milwaukee Bucks: Highlights From SI’s Giannis Antetokounmpo Feature

Late Night Practice Sessions

At this point Antetokounmpo’s work ethic and drive have been well documented. Even if it hadn’t, a quick look at a photo of Giannis from his rookie year compared to the imposing physique he now possesses would tell the story all by itself.

Jenkins opens up his piece with a visual description of the journey that Giannis takes so often to the Bucks’ practice facility at St. Francis.

"On the worst nights, when the fadeaways are short and the pocket passes are late, Giannis Antetokounmpo skips the showers. He storms out of the Bradley Center in full uniform, from home locker room to player parking lot, and hops into the black Explorer the local Ford dealer lent him. He turns right on North 4th Street in downtown Milwaukee, steers toward the Hoan Bridge and continues six miles south to the Catholic seminary in St. Francis, where the priests pray and the Bucks train and The Freak dispenses his rage. Alone, Antetokounmpo reenacts the game he just played, every shot he clanked and every read he missed. Sometimes, he leaves by 1 a.m. Other times, he stays until three, sweating through his white jersey for a second time. “I get so mad, and if I go right home, I’m afraid I’ll never get that anger out,” Antetokounmpo says. “This is how I get the anger away.”"

Although in this case practicing into the late hours of the night acted as a kind of therapy for Giannis to work off the stresses and frustrations, Jenkins reveals more to the Greek’s motivations.

We get a sense of how Giannis chooses to practice at the facility after games rather than have it come across as if he’s looking to put on a show for the fans post-game. As with many of the quotes and stories that emerge from the piece, it paints a picture of a young man who is increasingly serious. Not in a dour or lifeless way by any means, but as an indicator of a defined motivation and focus.

The piece closes with the Bucks breaking up for Christmas after a dominant showing against the Wizards and Giannis just missing out on 40 points.

"In the locker room afterward, players scatter for Christmas, two days away. “Stay out of the gym!” swingman Tony Snell cautions, and Antetokounmpo surreptitiously shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he mutters. A few minutes later the black Explorer turns right on North 4th Street, toward the snow-covered bridge, taking the league’s most unlikely driver to a place only he can see."

Still, after the best performance of his career to date, it was time for work.