Things Tyler Smith can learn from every Milwaukee Bucks starter

Giannis Antetokounmpo - Work ethic, the post fade, matchups

If I were Jon Horst and Doc Rivers, I would assign Tyler Smith to follow Giannis Antetokounmpo everywhere he goes. This isn't to say that Smith should strive to be a Giannis clone or a new Antetokounmpo brother, but more to the point of wanting him to see how a master of his craft consistently operates.

Seeing the transformation that Giannis Antetokounmpo has undergone over the last 11 years since being drafted is one of the greatest stories that NBA history will remember. Tyler Smith could learn a lot from Giannis Antetokounmpo just from the way he carries himself in his work ethic.

Also, we've seen countless interviews with Giannis Antetokounmpo over the years to know that he is a great person on top of being a great basketball player. Again, not saying that Tyler Smith should be trying to clone himself to Antetokounmpo, but learning to carry himself as a man of high character is something that would benefit the culture of the Milwaukee Bucks for years to come.

Moving to on the court learning opportunities, Tyler Smith could learn something from Giannis Antetokounmpo that Giannis himself has learned from other NBA greats over the past handful of years, the post fade.

In the last decade, Giannis has worked out with Kevin Garnett and, more recently, Hakeem Olajuwon (not to mention Kobe Bryant), two of the NBA's greatest big men. Giannis could see himself as the student becoming the teacher and imparting the knowledge he got from Garnett and Olajuwon to Tyler Smith.

Giannis Antetokounmpo masterfully used his post fade during the 2021 NBA Finals when he was being guarded by a slightly heavier Deandre Ayton. The post fade is a move Giannis has greatly improved on in the last handful of years and is absolutely something Tyler Smith should look to add to his game.

Next, Giannis Antetokounmpo could teach Tyler Smith how to take advantage of having a smaller defender guarding him without getting baited into a turnover.

Over the years, NBA teams have come up with different tactics for trying to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo, whether it be building a wall of defenders or throwing different defenders at him. One thing Antetokounmpo himself has had to learn is how to take advantage of smaller defenders without having the ball poked away while dribbling or getting baited into offensive fouls.

Tyler Smith could benefit from practice in this area, when seeing yourself being guarded by a smaller player, whether it be in height or weight, the initial instinct could be to go through them. However, there is some care needed in this aspect as a lot of NBA players have worked on the art of selling contact, more aptly, flopping.

Smith could stand to learn from the player who arguably faces the most attempts by opposing teams to draw offensive fouls, Giannis Antetokounmpo.