Are We Prematurely Crowning Giannis Antetokounmpo as NBA's Next Great Player?
Optimistic outlooks often create premature NBA phenomenons, inflating immediate performances with trendy expectations belying experience and merit, manufacturing greatness that simultaneously idealizes and compromises budding promise.
Has highly touted Milwaukee Bucks sophomore Giannis Antetokounmpo reached such a point, sporting a forcibly fabricated crown that doesn't fit?
Optimistic Analysis
Arguments outlining his awesomeness abound. He's gone from relative obscurity to far-flung acclaim in roughly one year. His rise in recognition has been meteoric and inspiring and even refreshing.
Perhaps reflexive, too.
Almost everything about Antetokounmpo is worth noting these days. The size of his hands is news. His growth spurts are national treasures. Milwaukee's transition from mediocrity-trapped laughingstock to legitimate threat looks brighter and easier with him in tow.
Yes, the takes have been hot.
Searing, even.
Basketball sage David B. Thorpe said this of Antetokounmpo in October:
"Rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo, a towering wing with most of the known basketball skills at his disposal," wrote GQ.com's Bethlehem Shoals in January, "is justifying the last decade of European scouting."
"What you are seeing in those clips is the same thing you see in that absurd block against Kevin Durant: instinct," declared Deadspin's Tom Ley, also in January. "Despite being so young and inexperienced, Giannis plays like someone who just knows how to play basketball."
"Now?" penned Bleacher Report's Adam Fromal in July. "After just one season and the ensuing summer league, Antetokounmpo is a potential star, one who brings a set of skills and physical tools—I haven't even mentioned those hands—that haven't been seen in this league."
Interpretations of Antetokounmpo's introduction to the world have been that enthusiastic, mostly focusing on his unparalleled upside and the superstar leap he might be destined to make.
This is the same Antetokounmpo who started 23 games and averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.8 steals while shooting 41.4 percent and registering a below-average player efficiency rating of 10.8 as a rookie. The same Antetokounmpo who went on to dominate the 2014 summer league (17 points, 5.8 rebounds, 46.2 percent shooting). The same Antentokounmpo who has looked unpolished during Milwaukee's first few preseason games.
"I feel more confident and more comfortable in the court," Antetokounmpo said, per the Journal Sentinel's Charles F Gardner. "I just try to work and see where it takes me. I try to get better and better."
Some are prone to using glimpses of great confidence to form crazy-high ceilings. All the hype implies Antetokounmpo is already a star rather than a developing project.
That's where perception of the Bucks' insanely athletic prospect runs afoul.
Explaining the Hype
Exposure is typically results-driven. This level of exposure is, anyway. It's easy to forget Antetokounmpo is still an impressionable talent when he's at the center of Anthony Davis-esque hoopla.
But this extreme publicity isn't solely about what Antetokounmpo has done already, or what he's doing right now.
Part of it most definitely is.
Flashes of superhuman length and athleticism have left him one of the most YouTube-worthy players in the NBA. His momentary end-to-end accolades are piling up, bewitching and captivating in frequency and execution.
More of it has to do with his character.
Hailing from Greece, Antetokounmpo comes off as genuinely innocent. Elevated status can warp and kill even the purest first impressions, but Antetokounmpo's personality and spirit remain intact, he himself seemingly unaware of how affably different he is to us.
Charming anecdotes keep us interested, borderline obsessed. Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski authored an in-depth look at Antetokounmpo's rags-to-riches ascension replete with endearing tales—like that of the then-rookie having his apartment furnished with secondhand furniture—that romanticize him further.
Even his social media forays are irresistible. He makes dancing to '90s rap seem in vogue:
He turns smoothie-sampling into a cult novelty:
Monkeying around behind the wheel has never felt safer or more right:
Indeed, this is the power of a 19-year-old kid who doesn't act like your average NBA player.
Social media makes stars on its own. It's important not to mistake that exposure as an extension of what he's capable of doing on the court—though that's another ingredient to Antetokounmpo's legend.
Skill sets like his don't come around often. Or ever. He travels the length of the court in a matter of steps. He's shown he can score from anywhere in any way imaginable. He's reportedly 6'11" and still growing, per Bucks general manager John Hammond (via the Journal Sentinel), yet still possesses the ability to play any position on the floor.
Take that last part literally, because new head coach Jason Kidd apparently has already:
Seven-foot point guards aren't supposed to exist. Durant—who, despite what he's often listed at, approaches 7'0" as well—orchestrates the offense for his Oklahoma City Thunder, but he doesn't actually start at point guard. That the idea of Antetokounmpo becoming a full-time floor general must be entertained pushes his ceiling even higher.
Making Sense of It All
To call Antetokounmpo the next great NBA player is premature. The attention he's receiving doesn't match up with his on-court production. He is not Davis. He's younger and less experienced, his star falling well short of unquestionable dominance.
Equally presumptuous, though, is criticizing Antetokounmpo or rejecting superstar notions simply because they're overwhelming. That doesn't make them untrue. Antetokounmpo's struggles don't even make them untrue.
"Results are irrelevant at this stage," Grantland's Danny Chau explained July. "It’s about seeing what you have."
What the Bucks have is an incredibly talented teenager who needs time.
Ceilings aren't typically realized in a year or even two. Antetokounmpo's case is even more complicated because of how deep his skills span. We have to understand this.
Versatility is feared and respected. People should be excited over what he's already doing and showing, but even more excited to find out what's next.
Mistaking this anticipation for fact is where danger lies. Commenting on his potential this soon isn't wrong. Antetokounmpo could be the source of a positionless revolution or the next great superstud. He could go bust. We don't know. It's this limitless mystery that is a boon—not superstar-making guarantee—for his stock.
*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference unless otherwise cited.
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