We have all heard the rumors. We’ve all been given a small taste of the future. But now it is finally coming to fruition. Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach Jason Kid announced that the 6’11” Giannis Antetokounmpo will start at point guard in Tuesday night’s preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I think a coach has to listen to his players…He’s trying to find guys. He’s trying to do the right thing. You take away being almost 7’11”, it’s a special player.” Kidd said when asked about his decision.
There had been plenty of talk this summer of using the second year player many refer to as the “Greek Freak” at the point-forward position, but sparks really started flying when a report came out that the Bucks were bringing in Gary Payton to serve as a “special advisor” in the transition, and that there was a chance Antetokounmpo may be moving to the one.
The 19-year old Antetokounmpo, who has a 7’5″ wingspan, has already had some experience running the point in Summer League, training camp, and most recently, coming off the bench against the Bulls in last Sunday’s preseason game. This experiment should be fun if nothing else, as Giannis is still very young and “unripe” in the words of Payton. In the 32.9 minutes he spent running the point in Summer League over four games, he only averaged 1.8 assists.
“I’m not going to say I was shocked by it. It’s something that I feel comfortable with and I’ll play wherever Coach wants me to play, especially when it’s Coach Kidd who thinks that I can play point guard. That makes me feel like, ‘I can play it. I can play point guard.’ I’m going to try my best and just listen to Coach. I’ll do whatever Coach says to do and I’ll get more comfortable,” Antetokounmpo stated in an interview with Basketball Insiders published on Thursday.
In a league full of players who seem to be constantly looking out for themselves and for their brand, it is refreshing to see a young, immensely talented player who is willing to listen to and respect his coach and do what is best for the team. The easy thing would be for him to just slip into the role he seems to be made for at forward, but it seems like this Bucks team is reaching for results that seldom come from doing the easy thing.
There is one thing for certain, Giannis will be the league’s biggest point guard, and with his ability to stretch to almost 11 feet tall, should give smaller players fits, especially on defense. They may be able to beat him with a quick first step, but his long frame could prove overwhelming.
What makes this news even more exciting is that by inserting the “Greek Freak” into the point guard position, Coach Kidd will make the Bucks one of the tallest and longest lineups of all time, as all five starters are at least 6’8” and all have over a 7’0” wingspan.
I applaud Coach Kidd and the Bucks for giving Antetokounmpo the chance to show off and develop his ball-handling skill and work on improving his vision in a low risk environment. They have an explosive player who has the chance to develop into an impossible matchup for other teams.
If it works, he will be the catalyst on a very young team full of potential. If not, they can at least say they tried; and the rest of us will have had the chance to at least dream of something magical.
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