"GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO COULDN'T stay quiet and confused. His coach wouldn't allow it. Early in Antetokounmpo's NBA career, he was still learning English and often felt intimidated by how fast the words flew out of the mouths of his Milwaukee Bucks coaches and teammates. Antetokounmpo especially struggled with slang and basketball terminology after spending the first 18 years of his life in Greece."
"O.J. Mayo, the 2008 No. 3 pick playing for Milwaukee at the time, gave Antetokounmpo several movies such as "Friday" and "Friday After Next" to help him pick up on some of the common vernacular used by the players. But that didn't help when then-Bucks coach Jason Kidd called on Antetokounmpo in film sessions. "I was like, 'Coach, I don't understand what you're saying," Antetokounmpo recalled recently to ESPN. "He kept saying, 'Stop using that you don't understand what I'm saying as an excuse.'""
Antetokounmpo arrived in the NBA after spending his first 18 years in Greece and initially struggled with English, common vernacular and basketball terminology. Teammate O.J. Mayo gave him films to help him pick up slang, but coaching situations demanded faster comprehension. Coach Jason Kidd and staff created a printed glossary of basketball terms and ran drills where a coach would shout a term and require Antetokounmpo to demonstrate it. The repetitive teaching method accelerated his language and basketball vocabulary acquisition. Antetokounmpo later became a two-time MVP and ten-time All-Star amid an increasingly international NBA roster.
Read at ESPN.com
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