When measured at Adidas EuroCamp last year, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo measured 6’9” with a reported 7’3” wingspan. Plus he has freakishly large hands.
But he’s going to end up bigger than that — he’s still growing. That according to a story about Antetokounmpo in the Journal Times (hat tip to the still growing Zach Harper at Eye on Basketball).Not only is Antetokounmpo’s game growing, so is his body. When the Bucks drafted him in June, he was 6-9. Now, just more than five months later, he has added more than an inch to his lanky frame.
“I am now 6-10 and one quarter,” Antetokounmpo said smiling…
Indeed, doctors have informed Antetokounmpo and Bucks officials that the former’s growth plate is still open. In all likelihood, he’ll become a 7-footer.
If you want to know why there is such a buzz around Antetokounmpo, check out this play against the Celtics from over the weekend.
There are a handful of guys in the league who could make that block on one end, run the floor and throw it down at the other. He is dynamic to watch.
And also very, very raw. He is coming out of the second division of the Greek league, which is a borderline basketball backwater by NBA standards. Between the dramatic changes in the level of play on the court and the adjustments off it (Milwaukee is not Greece) the Bucks are being careful to bring him along slowly. They want to maintain Antetokounmpo’s confidence and help it grow. It’s the smart play, even if the rest of us are impatient.
Few things are much more fun for NBA diehards like us (if you read this far into this post, you pretty much qualify) than watching a player grow and develop. With Antetokounmpo the learning curve is insane — he is starting from such a relative low point and his ceiling is nowhere to be seen. He could grow into a real NBA star, the kind of guy where even your Mom will know who he is. Even if she can’t pronounce his name.
Just everything about Antetokounmpo is still growing — and hard to take your eyes off of.