With national media allowed into the Milwaukee Bucks’ Tuesday practice in Orlando, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s three-point shooting caught the eye of many.
The Milwaukee Bucks are just a couple of days away from their return in the form of their first scrimmage against the San Antonio Spurs, and therefore it’s no real surprised that all eyes are starting to shift toward the NBA’s soon-to-be back-to-back MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With the national media members who were allowed into the bubble in Orlando having cleared quarantine and free to roam the campus now, many of them headed along to Bucks practice on Tuesday and seemed to be taken with what they saw from the Greek superstar.
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In particular, videos of Giannis knocking down no end to three-pointers were shared by the likes of The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears, The Washington Post’s Ben Golliver, and The Athletic’s Joe Vardon.
On the surface, that fact won’t take Bucks fans by surprise, as video of Antetokounmpo seamlessly making jumpers in practice has been far from an uncommon sight over the years. Just like the rest of the league’s professionals, it turns out making shots, unguarded, in an empty gym isn’t a major issue.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s three-point stroke looks a little different in Orlando, and it could yet prove to be a big boost for him and the Milwaukee Bucks.
But somewhere in between the apparent surprise of the media members capturing the footage and the dismissiveness of those in the comment sections, there is something worth noting about Antetokounmpo’s stroke.
We just talking Bout practice, but @Giannis_An34 jumper look Wet. #bucks #nba #nbabubble pic.twitter.com/NerUZjjfg8
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 22, 2020
Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo drains five straight corner threes off the dribble at Tuesday’s practice pic.twitter.com/Ai17ID5bLj
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) July 22, 2020
Even the untrained eye will likely have no issue in observing that Giannis’ stroke does look just a little bit more compact than the last time we saw him in action.
That makes sense too, as contrary to comments he gave a few months back, Antetokounmpo revealed to media on Tuesday that he had been able to get in the gym and put in some practice over the past few months.
As detailed by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, Giannis said:
"“Anybody out there that thought I didn’t have access to a gym….(laughs)…you know, they don’t really know me.”"
If Giannis has been putting work in, it’s certainly worth pointing out that there is still something of a hitch in his motion at times. A slight pause on the way up means his stroke isn’t exactly the most fluid, and by the standards of an average NBA player working toward becoming a good shooter, it would be a fair response to point out that getting that shot off without being blocked could be an issue.
Antetokounmpo is far from an average player, though, and that particular shot being repeatable could work incredibly well for him. A slow release might mean that Giannis can only get his shot off when left open, but the fact is the primary way he’s defended is with teams affording him no shortage of space and daring him to shoot.
If a team decided to get tighter and close that space, Antetokounmpo may not be able to work with a jump shot, but he could revert to driving by and living with his preferred shot at the rim.
In other words, those sneering at the idea of Antetokounmpo knocking down shots in practice with a relatively slow motion that doesn’t resemble that of a Stephen Curry, Kyle Korver or J.J. Redick need to take a moment to realize that’s not what Giannis needs to make his game work.
Plus, the stepback three on display in a couple of the clips above is certainly a new wrinkle that Giannis didn’t have in his arsenal before.
As always, we’ll have to wait and see what makes its way from the practice court into game situations, but if Antetokounmpo finds something that works for him, the issue won’t be that it doesn’t match up to the consensus of what’s required of a good shooter.