Giannis Antetokounmpo is already quite good at basketball, to the point where the 23-year-old is on a (very) short list of players who any franchise would love to have for the next decade.
Still, there is always more room to grow, and Antetokounmpo has an idea for a tutor who could potentially help him expand his already considerable horizons.
In speaking with Eric Nehm of ESPN Wisconsin, Antetokounmpo revealed that he is “going to try to sneak an opportunity” to talk with Kobe Bryant while in Los Angeles for All-Star Weekend, and in short, he is looking for even more than that.
Via ESPN:
“Not to just go out there and workout for two or three weeks, but to grab a dinner and see the way his mind thinks. To see if I’m on the right path.”
“It’s all about how he thinks. It’s about how they think, how the greats think. How they think about the game. I want to see how he thinks about the game, how he sees the game, how he would play today, would he change something about the way he plays. Obviously, he’s watched me play, and hopefully he can give me some tips.”
Antetokounmpo did make sure to note that Kevin Garnett would be another option for tutelage, but in the same breath, he is far from the first young NBA player to seek guidance from Bryant. Back in August, Bryant tabbed the Milwaukee Bucks forward for one of his patented challenges, pushing Antetokounmpo to win the MVP award in 2017-2018. That, of course, may not happen given the performances of players like James Harden, but at his age, the fact that Antetokounmpo is averaging more than 27 points and 10 rebounds per game is awe-inspiring.
At some point, there might be diminishing returns on outside advice in Antetokounmpo’s ear, but there are certainly things, headlined by a killer instinct and work ethic that Bryant could uniquely pass along at this stage. It is terrifying to envision someone with Antetokounmpo’s physical gifts with that kind of mindset, but in some ways, that is probably what he is aiming for with this particular mentorship arrangement.
