After a playoff run that abruptly ended this past spring, Giannis Antetokounmpo entered the summer as motivated as ever.
The 2018-19 MVP carried the Milwaukee Bucks to a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, before the Toronto Raptors stormed back, winning four straight and dispatching the top-seeded Bucks.
According to Bucks assistant coach Ben Sullivan, who worked out with Antetokounmpo all over the world this summer, from Milwaukee to Las Vegas to Greece, he saw a player determined to get better.
"I would say, if it's even possible, he was more driven during his workouts to work on all the areas he felt like he needed to improve upon for us to go even further in the playoffs," Sullivan told Business Insider.
Sullivan is a player development coach who primarily focuses on shooting. That role has helped him develop a close relationship with Antetokounmpo, whose weak jump shot is the one missing ingredient in his game.
Sullivan didn't have tall tales of marathon sessions or odd-hours requests from Antetokounmpo to train this summer. Antetokounmpo simply gets in the gym and gets his work done.
"I think his work ethic and his dedication to his craft is pushing him through ... He's maniacal about how hard he works," Sullivan said.
The major focus of those workouts, of course, was Antetokounmpo's jumper.
It's not that Antetokounmpo is an incapable shooter - he shot 38% from 10-16 feet and 41% from 16 feet to the three-point line last season, according to Basketball-Reference. In the playoffs, he hit 32.7% of his threes, the kind of passable number that would open things up for everyone on the Bucks.
To observers, Antetokounmpo improving his shot could take the Bucks to a new level.
"Listen, if that guy could ever shoot the ball consistently, let's just throw in the towel, everybody else, and head home, because it's over," said TNT analyst and former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy.
NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Reggie Miller said it'd be "lights out" if Antetokounmpo could make opponents respect his jumper - whether it's a three-pointer or 15-20-foot shot.
"He's gotta develop a consistent jump shot," Miller said. "He does that, this league will never have seen something like [him]."
Sullivan pushed back on the notion that Antetokounmpo's jumper is holding him back.
"I know it's a popular narrative - 'Giannis' shooting, Giannis' shooting' - and the reality of it is, to me, is that he was just the MVP last year and he was one of, if not the most dominant player in the NBA," Sullivan said.
"He's gonna continue to add pieces to his game, continue to add elements to his game, continue to add a pull-up jump shot, a pull-up two, a pull-up three, face-up jumper in the post, all that stuff. He's continued to work on those things and they're gonna keep creeping out in the game when he's out on the floor ... I can't put an exact timeline on when that's gonna happen, or what exactly it's gonna look like, or what it is. But I can tell you he definitely works on all of those things."
Few teams have experienced such a quick change in circumstances as the Bucks.
This time last year, they were considered a mid-tier playoff team with low expectations. Then they raced out to the best record in the East thanks to Antetokounmpo's growth, the success of new head coach Mike Budenholzer's system, and a well-balanced, deep roster built by GM Jon Horst.
Expectations have grown quickly. This year, anything short of a Finals appearance may be seen as a disappointment.
There are questions about the roster this season. The Bucks lost Malcolm Brogdon and Nikola Mirotic in free agency. Eric Bledsoe, who the team gave a $70 million extension before the playoffs, had an uneven postseason for the second year in a row. There are serious questions about his viability as the top point guard on a championship team.
While the Bucks remain deep and talented, the Philadelphia 76ers loom large. The Sixers have compiled an impressive starting five that, physically, matches up better with the Bucks than perhaps any other team in the league.
There are no tea leaves to read on Antetokounmpo's future plans. Those who know Antetokounmpo describe him as fiercely loyal and reluctant to be in the spotlight - he wants to be part of a group. Some take those qualities as signs he would stay in Milwauke.
The Bucks, of course, plan to do everything they can to keep him. Horst was fined in September for saying the Bucks will offer Antetokounmpo the "supermax" contract, worth approximately $253 million over five years, as soon as he's eligible.
Antetokounmpo will also be entering his prime, at 26 years old, if he hits free agency in 2021. If he feels the Bucks are not closer to contending for a championship, would he consider other teams to capitalize on his best years?
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Antetokounmpo took part in a Harvard study last spring about NBA teams in small markets. He was quoted as saying: "I want the Bucks to build a winning culture. So far, we have been doing great, and, if this lasts, there's no other place I want to be. But if we're underperforming in the NBA next year, deciding whether to sign becomes a lot more difficult."
Asked about the study and his comments on Thursday, Antetokounmpo refuted the quote.
"My girlfriend Mariah asked me yesterday. She said, 'Did you actually say this?' I said, 'If you're going to read the last quote, I've never used those words in my life'" Antetokounmpo told reporters. He added: "The last - what is it called - quote, paragraph, it's words that I didn't use. Underperforming or whether or deciding, all those words. I've never used in my life. As I said, I'm not going to talk about it."
ESPN's Zach Lowe predicted that Antetokoummpo would not sign the supermax if the Bucks don't make the Finals this year.
How much will marginal improvements help push the Bucks further this season? Can fellow All-Star Khris Middleton take another step toward true stardom? Will any of their young prospects make a leap? Can Eric Bledsoe become a steady, reliable third option when the Bucks need him most?
Perhaps the answer to all those questions is yes, and the Bucks prove to be the best team in the East and a true championship contender. But the player most tied to those goals is Antetokounmpo. Ironically, his ability to take his game to another level may be the deciding factor in his own future and the Bucks'.
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