Despite saying he had no access to a hoop while in quarantine with his family, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo did indeed have access.
After Tuesday’s practice in Orlando, Antetokounmpo admitted that he was just saying that to gain an edge on his peers.
“Anybody out there that thought I didn’t have access to a gym, they don’t even know me,” a laughing Giannis said.
“So, I just said that to try to get a little bit ahead of the competiton.”
The conversation that Giannis is referencing happened on a conference call back in April.
“So, I don’t have access to a hoop. 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,” he said.
Prior to the hiatus, Antetopounmpo was making a strong case to add a second MVP trophy to his collection.
He was averaging a career-best 29.6 points, and 13.7 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game, with his Bucks owning the NBA’s best record at 53-12.
The NBA has already announced that voting for awards such as MVP and Defensive Player of the Year are all but done.
Antetopounmpo could become the third player in NBA history to win both awards in the same season.
In typical Antetopounmpo fashion, he is focused on the bigger picture.
“I was locked in and winning games and helping my teammates, and it took care of itself. So that was my main focus. Now, I know its going to be a lot of people out there talking about the MVP, but that’s not my main focus.”
“My main focus is to get better, win games, help my team play good basketball and go and try to win the big trophy. The last time we did that was ’71, so that’s my main focus right now.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks back into the restart with hopes of winning the title in 2020.