Original title: Antetokounmpo’s preparation for the European Championships is a precedent.
Since the Bucks were eliminated early in the semifinals last season, the Bucks have been very low-key this offseason, and as the Bucks’ leading star, Antetokounmpo has also submerged.
However, in recent days, Antetokounmpo has reappeared in the media’s field of vision, and as soon as he appeared, he created a new sense of surprise for everyone.
In a warm-up game between Greece and Spain, Giannis Antetokounmpo played 11 of 13 shots, 2 of 3 three-pointers, and scored 31 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in just 20 minutes. Although it was only a warm-up match, the technical ability and court control that Letters showed in the actual battle made the fans cheer. In addition, it seems that after a few months of private practice, the letter’s shooting is more silky, and the 3-point shooting from the outside has almost disappeared.
In the past, Antetokounmpo has been following the Greek team to prepare for the European Championships, but when it comes to the goal of winning the championship, Antetokounmpo is very modest. He even believes that the current Greek team is not only unable to win the cup, but even the training level is not enough to rush into the championship. Top three. But unlike what he said, this time, Alphabet takes the matter of fighting for the country more seriously than ever before, and he also has a stronger desire than ever to win the European Championship.
So far in his career, Antetokounmpo has won all the honors a professional player deserves in the NBA. He won the regular season MVP twice, the championship + FMVP trophy once, and he also won the Most Improved Player Award. Locked on the best defensive player. It can be said that among the players born after the 1990s, Antetokounmpo is already one of the few players with the highest achievements.
However, at the national team level, Antetokounmpo has failed to replicate the success of similar clubs. In 2019, Alphabet led the team to the World Cup but lost in a mess, and the Greek team did not even rush into the top 8. Last year, Antetokounmpo was unable to play because he was competing with the Bucks for the Olympic Games, and his absence also directly caused the Greek men’s basketball team to miss the Tokyo Olympics.
But this time, Antetokounmpo is determined to make up for his previous regrets in the national team, although he still tries to maintain restraint in words; although, there are still 20 days before the European Championships start, but obviously, only from a warm-up match. , you can already see the letter’s long-suppressed determination to win.
In fact, taking care of both the club and the national team has always been a headache for many NBA stars. Take the U.S. men’s basketball team as an example, every major competition, the dream team will encounter a lot of resistance in team formation and recruitment. Many players hope to get more rest time after a long and tiring season, and some people hope to spend more time with their families in the summer or to recuperate and reserve physical strength. Therefore, in every Dream Team, the best player at the time will be absent for various reasons.
But there are too many classic cases in the past to prove that after a player has been baptized in an international competition, he often ushered in an outbreak in the NBA journey in the next year. For example, in 2008, Kobe, as the core of the “Redemption Team”, led the Dream Team to regain the Olympic gold medal in Beijing. Winning the Olympics boosted Kobe’s morale. So, in the following 2008-09 season, he led the Lakers to win the championship, and also won the first championship of his career as the absolute core.
In the 2012 London Olympics, Harden was selected by the Dream Team as the sixth man in the Thunder Super, but that summer, in the Dream Team’s luxurious lineup, Harden was only the 11th man of the team, ranking only higher than Also a 12-year champion Nongmei who didn’t play in the NBA. However, that Olympic experience, being with the league’s top players, brought Beard to an epiphany moment in his career. In the 2012-13 season, Harden switched to the Rockets and quickly became Houston’s new core. From that season, he gradually entered the ranks of the league’s super giants.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, the beneficiary was replaced by Durant. That summer, he resisted the pressure to leave the Thunder to join the Warriors, and through the Olympics, he gained early access to the Warriors’ dream-seekers – Green and Klay – A good opportunity for Thompson to break in. After the Olympics, Durant quickly became familiar with the Warriors’ tactical style of play, and won two consecutive championships in the next two years, finally breaking the embarrassment of 0 career championships, and once became the first player in the league (active) the throne.
Of course, there is also Curry in 2014. After participating in the World Cup, he led the Warriors to start a dynasty in the next season, and his ability to lead the team soared. Another example is Tatum. After successive tests of the 2019 World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics, he finally became a first-line star in the league last season and successfully led the team to the finals.
Not only American stars, but now, Antetokounmpo, Doncic and others have also put all their energy into the preparation of the national team. Next, of course, they hope to use a European Championship to start the new year’s sports cycle. . Perhaps the experience of playing for the country will also have a positive impact on their NBA games next season, and then inspire them to attack higher and more difficult goals… (Poirot)Return to Sohu, see more