Yahoo Finance Giannis Antetokounmpo was lying about not having access to a hoop in quarantine
To be fair, we should have seen this coming.
Back in April, after the NBA season had shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and players were quarantined in their respective homes, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said he wasn’t able to work on his game much because he didn’t own a basketball hoop — something that stunned basketball fans.
“So, I don't have access to hoop,” he said in April. “A lot of NBA players have a court in their house or something. But now I just get home workouts. Ride the bike, treadmill, lift weights and pretty much stay sharp that way. But I don't play basketball.”
As it turns out, that was Antetokounmpo trying to be sneaky.
Antetokounmpo admitted to the lie on Tuesday night while with Milwaukee inside the NBA’s bubble at Walt Disney World, saying he was trying to use a bit of trickery to gain an advantage during the hiatus.
"Anybody out there that thought I didn't have access to a gym, they don't even know me," Antetokounmpo said Tuesday, via ESPN. "So, I just said that to try to get a little bit ahead of the competition."
Antetokounmpo was averaging a career-high 29.6 points and 13.7 rebounds per game when play was suspended in March, an incredible way to follow up his impressive MVP campaign last season. He and the Bucks will resume play in Florida with a 53-12 record, the best in the league.
Of course a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber — he’s got four All-Star nods and a league MVP title under his belt, is frequently considered among the best basketball players in the world and has a $100 million contract — owns a basketball hoop at his house.
Only time will tell if his “hoax” actually paid off.
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