With the NBA season right around the corner, there’s a time when players start making claims that seem either prescient or downright ridiculous, and Giannis Antetokounmpo is willing to take that risk.
The pressure is on for the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo after last season’s first-round loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The Greek Freak isn’t shy about that either, pushing his team-mates to improve while slyly leaving the door open for future transfers.
But as an exemplary professional, Antetokounmpo has recently made some “very dangerous” comments about the Bucks, and Ramona Shelbourne agrees.
It was clear last season that Antetokounmpo at his peak wasn’t enough to get the Bucks back to a critical season.
Antetokounmpo was at his best, but his teammates struggled to get back into the swing of things, forcing the Greeks to play a slew of inefficient games that gave off a sense of hopelessness.
With questions swirling over his future, it feels increasingly like a do-or-die season for the Bucks’ championship prospects and, by extension, their chance to keep their star player.
Antetokounmpo knows that, and he’s touting his team as a roster that is virtually perfect by any standard.
“We’re going to be in trouble. We’re going to be dangerous. We’re going to be set up in a very, very dangerous way.
“We have a lot of shots. We have a lot of playmakers, ball handlers, defenders who can switch. We have unbelievable bigs who can space the floor and be a problem defensively. We have exactly the setup we need to make a case.”
Antetokounmpo is understandably excited about the moves the Bucks made in the offseason, but Myles Turner in particular is an interesting addition.
As a three-and-D big, he’s exactly the kind of player the Bucks had great success with in the past with Brook Lopez.
Turner is a better, younger, more athletic version of Lopez, and Antetokounmpo should take great pleasure in having Turner space the court and run the lane.
Players like Kevin Porter and Gary Harris provide more shooting and are essential to building a team around Antetokounmpo, all of which makes Ramona Shelbourne think they’ll make some noise.
“I agree with Giannis that they’re going to be a lot better than people think. I like the acquisition of Myles Turner. I like everything they did in the offseason except for the fact that they probably aren’t good enough to get past the second round,” she said.
“That being said, I like him saying this because he’s saying it to make it exist. He’s trying to set the tone for this team.”
The Bucks won the title last time thanks to their incredible outside shooting, and they went back to that template again.
Only time will tell, but if this was the final season that convinced the superstar that the Bucks were the perfect place to make his championship dreams come true again.