Kobe Bryant is considered by many to be the greatest player of his generation. The Los Angeles Lakers now have the greatest player of the current generation in LeBron James. As for who will carry the mantle for the future, many are looking at Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The 23-year-old is already a freak of nature, averaging 26.9 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks last season while being named an All-Star and to the All-NBA Second Team in each of the past two seasons. But Antetokounmpo isn’t resting on his laurels.
Bryant has always said he is open to working out with anyone who seeks him out, and Antetokounmpo was among the NBA’s young players who took him up on that offer this summer. As he told Ben Steele of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Antetokounmpo was eager to pick Kobe’s brain:
“Obviously. Kobe is one of the greatest players to ever play the game,” Antetokounmpo said. “I knew that I (was) going to learn a lot from him. I just wanted to take from him his thought process.
“Like what he thinks about the game. How he thinks the game. Does he think about recovery? Stuff like that.”
Giannis was so eager to work with Kobe that he didn’t waste anytime getting to where he needed to be, arriving at 11 a.m. for a 2:30 p.m. workout:
“I just wanted to show him that I am not here to mess around,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m not here for no PR reasons. None of that. I’m here to get better. Simple as that.
“I think he understands that. And that’s why we both took that practice really, really serious. He was open about what he thinks about the game, what he thinks about me as a player and what he thinks about the Bucks.”
The talent of Antetokounmpo is undeniable and his desire to keep improving is impressive. Getting pointers from one of the greatest players ever will only make him better and should put the rest of the NBA on notice.
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