Milwaukee Bucks: Life in bubble mirroring FIBA experience ahead of restart

As the Milwaukee Bucks settle into Orlando, superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has seen similarities to the bubble and experiences playing internationally.

Having nearly been in Orlando for a full week, the Milwaukee Bucks are attempting to get settled into their new surroundings for the following few months.

Of course, a historical set of unprecedented circumstances have brought the Bucks and 21 other NBA teams to Walt Disney World to finish out the 2019-20 season.

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But for Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, he has seen early similarities as he’s gotten accustomed to the bubble in Orlando to his prior experiences playing internationally.

Talking to the media following practice Monday morning, Antetokounmpo discussed those very similarities between how the bubble is set up and living in the same hotel with many of the Bucks’ challengers for this year’s crown:

"“It definitely feels that way. You don’t know what to expect. Everyday, there is a schedule and use the court. You just can’t walk in and use the court. In FIBA, it’s kind of the same. We all stay in the same hotel. You’re able to see the players walk around, have dinner.It’s kind of weird. You want to be respectful as much as possible the people you’re going to play against, the coaching staffs of other teams. But at the end of the day, we all come here for a goal and that’s to win a championship. I’m definitely old school. I like to stay to myself, so it’s hard in FIBA and you’re staying with eight, 10 different teams and you see the guys you’re going to go to battle against.”"

Considering how routine-oriented Antetokounmpo is, the reigning Most Valuable Player went on to discuss how the lack of a daily routine in Orlando also bears similarities to what he’s gone through on the international level:

"“Obviously being back home, you have a routine. You know what time you sleep, what time you wake up, what time the court is open. What time you’re able to lift weights, get up some shots. You know everything exactly. So I’m a routine guy. Just being out of routine, it kind of messed with my head a little bit.But, you know, as we move forward, we’re going to have a routine. In FIBA, we don’t have no routine either. There’s no schedule. One day, practice can be at 10 A.M. The other day, it can be at noon. So we have to be ready for everything. We’re here now and we have to play the cards we were dealt.”"

Of course, the 25-year-old Antetokounmpo isn’t the only Bucks player to have gone through the standards of practices when playing internationally and in big tournaments on that stage.

Just last year alone, the Bucks had both Antetokounmpo brothers as well as Ersan Ilyasova (Turkey), Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton (Team USA) playing for their respective countries during the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.

Antetokounmpo’s early assessment and comparison of being in the bubble at Walt Disney World to that of preparing to play on the international setting may be the strongest in terms of how players’ games and fitness will be going into the season restart. Of course, the four-month layoff may lean on the longer side of when an NBA regular season comes to an end and going on to play for country in the offseason, but it’s certainly a worthy comparison all the same.

For all Bucks fans that have diligently watched Antetokounmpo play for Greece over the years, the international game has been more of a struggle than how things are set up for the four-time All-Star in the NBA. While it goes beyond for the reasons that he listed above, Antetokounmpo himself has talked about how he favors the NBA game to how it is when playing for Greece and in FIBA events.

While he may be off from where he usually is in his conditioning and overall playing rhythm, Bucks fans will certainly be hoping that Antetokounmpo will be nothing short than what he’s proven to be while playing on the NBA level.