When the NBA suspended its season in March and players went into lockdown across the country, with NBA facilities closed to players for a long period, it was reported that many stars were unable to practice the game individually at home, with no access to a basketball hoop.
Leading league MVP favorite Giannis Antetokounmpo, along with Bucks teammate Khris Middleton, said they didn’t have a hoop at home and had to focus on general fitness instead. In a conference call in April, Antetokounmpo said he was simply doing cardio and strength training at home instead of playing basketball.
Via ESPN:
“So, I don’t have access to 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.”
As it turns out, however, that was all a mind game Antetokounmpo was playing with his competitors. On Tuesday, Giannis revealed that he had access to a hoop the entire time, and that he was trying to “get ahead” of his peers.
“Anybody out there that thought I didn’t have access to a gym, they don’t even know me. So, I just said that to try to get a little bit ahead of the competition.”
That’s…. a weird thing to lie about! Did Antetokounmpo believe that if LeBron James saw the headline about his hoop situation that James would practice less? Judging from LeBron’s Instagram the past few months, that strategy didn’t pay off.
