Giannis Antetokounmpo: "I've reached 80% of my potential, there's still more to do" - Sportish
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Giannis Antetokounmpo: “I’ve reached 80% of my potential, there’s still more to do”

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3 years ago

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Giannis Antetokounmpo: “I’ve reached 80% of my potential, there’s still more to do”

Giannis Antetokounmpo spoke to Athletic about his game and how he can get even better.

Giannis Antetokounmpo gave Athletic a really entertaining interview. Pleasing because he revealed everything he thinks about the game and his personal development. The Greek freak explained that… he still has a few tracks to unlock on the way to his ultimate potential, stressing that he feels like he’s at 80% right now.

In detail what he said to Athletic:

“When I think I’m better this year? 100% When I think I’ve proven it? No! But in any case it’s very scary because every time I come home I say “wow”. I know I can do more!

I went to the EuroBasket and was top scorer. I finished the tournament with 29.8 points. In Europe, this number corresponds to 40 points po in the NBA. In one game, I scored 31 points in 17 minutes, which is something I’ve never managed to do in my career. So you’re asking me if I think I’m better? I know I’m better but I have to show it on the pitch. You let your game speak for itself. We talk so much about this game, but we don’t stop there. We’re already playing it.

So even if I show that I’m better this year, there’s nothing to disappoint because I’m 28 years old. Next year I’ll be 29. And next year I might come back and be even better! It’s a big season, a really big season, ahead of us. We’re still halfway there. I played how many 37 games? Not to sound arrogant, but in 37 games I have 31 ppg. I never had those averages, even in the school league (in Greece) I didn’t have those numbers

There are two more levels to “unlock”. I have to stay focused to be successful. I’m not “unlocking” them now. And that’s okay. Nothing wrong with that. There is nothing that can bring me down mentally. I can now retire and still be happy about what I have achieved. No one can take anything from me (which I have done). I haven’t stolen anything from anyone.

I don’t owe anyone anything. But there is still a lot to “unlock”, I haven’t “reached” that level yet and I’m getting annoyed. But if you go through this difficulty and overcome it, you will return to the top again. I’ll climb up because I’m ready to go through the wall. I’m not ready to go the other way. I’m still fighting for this wall.

I try not to overcomplicate the game. To take the shots, you have to take them. I don’t think I’m getting enough shots. And that’s okay. I’m always realistic with myself. Do I think I can shoot better? Naturally! And it’s crazy that I don’t shoot well, but I’m at a career high. It’s crazy about me I’m really realistic with myself. I used to think I shot more 3-pointers. I made more shots from medium range or off balance. But at the end of the day it doesn’t matter.

What matters is winning the title. If I can and am able to help the team win and I’m available for those games, I will. If I shoot the ball well, I shoot the ball well. I hope to have better shooting rates next season. I can go into the field with confidence, maybe not next season. Maybe even now! Maybe after the All Star Game break, I can come back and shoot the ball with more confidence. To get more shots and then hopefully use them.

I really believe that I can take pictures. I really believe it! Part of my game is the middle-distance shot, I really believe what I’m saying. I think I’m good at it. You know, I always say I play to the best of my ability. So I really think that’s a strength of mine. Well, shoot after dribble after pick-and-roll, three-pointer after pick-and-roll? Not necessarily. So I think there’s the middle shot and then the three-point shot, you have to be patient.

For example, Kevin Durant unlocked a few things at 32. At 32! I don’t know if that translates to the numbers, but that’s how I see it. LeBron James, for example, unlocked more levels. I see Steph Curry unlocked more levels at the age of 34.

We should be realistic. I’m ten months older than Grayson Allen. Ten months. Do you understand what I’m saying; It’s not like I’m 32 years old and wondering what to do. Even if I’m 32 years old, if I have an average of 31 points or if we’re second in the East, I’m happy. You can’t take any of this for granted.

I said it again in 2019 when I won the MVP for the first time and people were talking about me like crazy. I was on social media at the time. So I said I’m at 60% of what I think I’m doing. So did I lie? People were wondering, ‘Is he at 60%? He just won the MVP. He doesn’t respect everyone in the NBA. He says he plays at 60%?”.

I did not mean that! I didn’t say I play at 60%, I never play at that percentage. I always play at 100%. I was just saying that I thought I was only 60% of my potential at what I’ve achieved. For example, now I think I’m at 80%. I think there are more steps to be taken. We will see. Whatever God has for me, it will show. I don’t know, I just know that I’m working really hard on it.

Overall, I feel very comfortable in this team. I believe this team has the potential to win the title and I’m fighting for that. I don’t know what John (Horst) will do now, it’s up to him. He’s really good at his job. GM of the year 2019. He made tremendous trades, some of which helped us win the trophy. We just have to trust him. Trusting your judgment and intuition. If something is to change, we just have to trust the process because we understand that this is the task now“.

Source: sport 24

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Denver announces Jokic’s recovery from knee injury

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23 hours ago

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December 30, 2025

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Denver announces Jokic’s recovery from knee injury

Denver Nuggets announced Nikola Jokic He will miss at least four weeks due to a left knee injury.

Star center was diagnosed with left knee hyperextension. At the same time, tests confirmed that the three-time NBA MVP’s knee ligaments remained intact.

Jokic was injured in the final seconds of the first half of the 123-147 loss to the Miami Heat and limped heavily on his way to the locker room. He did not return to the site after a long time.

Before his injury, Nikola managed to produce 21 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds in just 19 minutes on the field.

Losing Jokic could be a big blow for Denver, as starters Christian Braun (ankle injury), Aaron Gordon (hip issue) and Cam Johnson (knee injury) remain sidelined.

Jokic averaged 29.9 points, 12.4 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season.

Source: Sport UA

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NBA: Miami beat Denver, Cleveland beat San Antonio, Toronto won

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1 day ago

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December 30, 2025

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NBA: Miami beat Denver, Cleveland beat San Antonio, Toronto won

11 games were played in the NBA regular season on the night of December 29-30.

Miami hosted Denver and earned a landslide victory.

The home team was ahead by 12 points with 41:29 to play in the first quarter, but the Nuggets were able to slowly win back in the second quarter. The teams entered a long break with the score tied at 63:63. The decisive factor in the match was the third quarter, when the Heat made an 11:0 move and led by 15 points at 84:69. After that the home team completely controlled the course of the game and only increased their advantage, achieving a crushing victory – 147:123.

The most productive player of the match was Powell, who brought 25 points to Miami, while Jaques (20 points + 11 assists) and Adebayo had double-doubles with 13 points + 10 rebounds.

San Antonio hosted Cleveland and suffered a sensational defeat.

Three-quarters of the meeting was fought evenly, with the teams responding to each other’s pushes with their own pushes and often staying within a shot or two of each other. That changed in the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers went on a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 94-84. They then maintained their advantage and won with a score of 113:101.

Cleveland’s main hero in this game was Allen, who had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Garland can achieve the same success with 15 points and 11 assists.

Toronto beat Orlando at home.

Magic started the match better and made a 14:2 move at the start. Afterwards, they took control of the course of the game and increased the advantage completely to +21 – 51:30 in the second 12 minutes. After that, the home team slowly started to close the gap and entered the long break with a score of 11-11 at 54:65. The third quarter was tied, so Orlando still had a double-digit advantage ahead of the final: 94:84. At the beginning of the match the play followed the same scenario but in the middle Toronto made a move with 15:0 and not only won it back but also took the lead with 105:102. The fate of the game was decided by Barnes’ free throws, which set the score at 107:106 with 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the quarter.

Barnes could not make a triple-double this time, but he did a double-double and got 13 points and 11 rebounds, while the most productive name in the victory was Shead with 19 points.

NBA. Regular season, December 30

Miami – Denver – 147:123 (41:29, 22:34, 47:36, 37:24)

Miami: Powell (25), Weir (19 + 9 rebounds), Wiggins (19 + 6 assists), Adebayo (13 + 10 rebounds), Mitchell (10 + 9 assists) – start; Jovic (22), Jaques (20 + 11 assists), Smith (11), Larsson (3), Fontecchio (3), Johnson (2), Yakucionis (0), Gardner (0).

Denver: Jokic (21 + 8 assists), J. Murray (20 + 11 assists), Hardaway (16), Jones (16), Watson (11) – start; B. Brown (15), Valanciunas (6), Holmes (4), Strother (4), Nnaji (4), Pickett (2), Jones (2), Tyson (2).

San Antonio – Cleveland – 101:113 (26:25, 29:24, 23:27, 23:37)

San Antonio: Vembanyama (26 + 14 rebounds), Castle (15 + 8 assists + 5 losses), Fox (14), Vassell (7), Barnes (3) – start; Harper (11), Cornet (10 + 9 rebounds), K. Johnson (8), Shempeni (7), Brian (0).

cleveland: Allen (27 + 10 rebounds), E. Mobley (16 + 7 rebounds), Garland (15 + 11 assists), Mitchell (10 + 7 assists), Wade (10) – start; Hunter (11 + 9 rebounds), Tyson (11), Tomlin (6), Merrill (5), Porter (2).

Toronto – Orlando – 107:106 (18:29, 36:36, 30:29, 23:12)

toronto: Ingram (17 + 9 rebounds), Barnes (13 + 11 rebounds), Mamukelashvili (13), Agbadzhi (10), Quickley (4) – start; Shed (19), Dick (15), Walter (10 + 7 rebounds), Murray-Boyles (4 + 12 rebounds), Bettle (2), Bamba (0).

Orlando’s: Black (27), Banchero (23 + 15 rebounds + 10 assists), Bane (18), Jones (10), Carter (9) – start; Richardson (7), da Silva (6), Kane (3), Bitadze (2), Penda (1), Isaac (0).

Washington – Phoenix – 101:115 (23:22, 31:39, 25:26, 22:28)

washington: Johnson (24), McCollum (17), Coulibaly (13 + 7 rebounds), Watkins (3), Sarr (2) – start; Shempeny (11), Carrington (10), Riley (10), Bagley (7+7 rebounds), Brenham (4), Johnson (0), Hill (0).

Phoenix: Brooks (26), Gillespie (25 + 6 assists), Booker (22), O’Neal (15), Igodaro (6 + 10 rebounds) – starter; Goodwin (14 + 7 rebounds), Livers (3), Buey (2), Richards (2 + 9 rebounds), Hayes-Davis (0), Fleming (0), Maluach (0).

Charlotte-Milwaukee-113:123 (26:25, 40:38, 23:32, 24:28)

Charlotte: Miller (31 + 8 rebounds), Ball (26 + 7 assists + 6 losses), Diabate (14 + 9 rebounds), Bridges (3), James (0) – start; Sexton (16 + 8 assists), Green (10), McNeely (7), Hall (3), Hall (3 + 11 rebounds), Mann (0).

Milwaukee: Y. Antetokounmpo (24 + 7 assists), Turner (23 + 4 blocked shots), Porter (15 + 11 assists), Rollins (13), Green (5) – start; Portis (25), Trent (9), Kuzma (6), G. Harris (3), Sims (0).

Brooklyn – Golden State – 107:120 (30:28, 27:31, 28:30, 22:31)

Brooklyn: Porter (27 + 9 rebounds), Demin (23), Claxton (15 + 9 rebounds), Clowney (11), Mann (4) – start; Thomas (13), Traore (9), Sharpe (3), Powell (2), Wolfe (0).

Golden State: Curry (27), Butler (21), Dr. Green (7), Moody (4), Post (3) – start; Jackson-Davis (11), Payton II (10), Melton (10 + 8 rebounds), Richard (10), Podziemski (7), Hield (6), Spencer (4), Santos (0).

New Orleans – New York – 125:130 (41:37, 34:35, 28:24, 22:34)

New Orleans: Williamson (32), Bay (26 + 6 assists), Murphy (21), Quinn (7 + 9 rebounds + 6 assists), Fiers (4) – start; Poole (26), Peavey (3), Hawkins (2), Missy (2), Looney (2 + 9 rebounds).

new York: Brunson (28 + 10 assists), Anunoby (23 + 11 rebounds), Diawara (18), Towns (12 + 12 rebounds), Bridges (6 + 10 assists) – start; McBride (14), Yabusele (9), Clarkson (9), Kolek (7), McCullar (2), Jamison (2), Hookporty (0).

Oklahoma – Atlanta – 140:129 (35:38, 35:36, 43:29, 27:26)

Oklahoma: Gilgeous-Alexander (39 + 6 assists), Holmgren (24 + 9 rebounds), Jaylen Williams (20 + 9 rebounds + 7 assists), Wallace (17 + 7 rebounds), Dort (6) – start; Caruso (16 + 9 rebounds), Mitchell (10), Carlson (6), Wiggins (2), Joe (0), K. Williams (0).

of Atlanta: Alexander-Walker (30), Okongwu (26 + 14 rebounds + 6 assists), Krejci (18), Daniels (13 + 7 assists), Risache (12) – start; Kennard (12), Wallace (9), Newell (9), Gueye (0).

Houston – Indiana – 126:119 (30:25, 36:23, 39:30, 21:41)

Houston: Durant (30), Smith (21 + 10 rebounds), Thompson (20 + 8 rebounds + 7 assists), Eason (13 + 8 rebounds), Adams (8) – start; Sheppard (13), Finney-Smith (6), Capela (6+7 rebounds), Okogie (3), Davison (2), Tate (2), Green (2), A. Holiday (0).

indiana: Siakam (23), Maturin (14), Nembhard (11), Furphy (9), Huff (8) – start; Nesmith (14), Walker (12), Jackson (7), McConnell (6), Peter (6), Jones (4), Potter (3 + 6 assists), Thompson (2), Bradley (0).

Chicago – Minnesota – 101:136 (23:21, 27:34, 28:40, 23:41)

Chicago: Vucevic (23), Buzelis (13), Giddy (11), Okoro (4), White (0) – start; Smith (12), Jones (11), Dosunmu (10 + 7 assists), Herter (8), Williams (7), Phillips (2), Carter (0), Terry (0).

Minnesota: Edwards (23), Randle (17 + 14 assists), DiVincenzo (12), Gobert (9 + 10 rebounds + 4 blocks), McDaniels (7) – start; Reed (33 + 7 rebounds), Hyland (12), Clark (11), Dillingham (5), Miller (3), Juzeng (2), Conley (2), Beranger (0).

Portland – Dallas – 125:122 (42:29, 33:34, 22:30, 28:29)

Portland: Avdija (27 + 9 rebounds + 11 assists + 8 losses), Sharpe (24), Klingin (18 + 11 rebounds), Kamara (9), Sissoko (6) – start; Love (24), Ruper (9), R. Williams (8 + 8 rebounds), Yang Hansen (0).

dallas: Christie (25), Gafford (17 + 10 rebounds), Flagg (15 + 7 assists + 5 turnovers), Washington (8), Nembhard (0 + 6 assists) – start; Williams (22), Marshall (17), Thompson (14), Powell (2), Caleb Martin (2).

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Western Conference

Eastern Conference

Source: Sport UA

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ADETOKUMBO: “Disrespectful. Don’t ask me this question”

Published

3 days ago

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December 28, 2025

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ADETOKUMBO: “Disrespectful. Don’t ask me this question”

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo He gave a harsh response to the question about a possible trade to another NBA club:

“I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. It’s disrespectful to me and my teammates. I wear this jersey every day.

To say I don’t want to be here is disrespectful to the organization, the coaching staff, myself and everyone who worked hard to get me on the field. Don’t ask me this question. I am her. I’m going out in this uniform. And as long as I’m here, I’ll give it my all until the last second of the match.”

On the night of December 27-28, Antetokounmpo returned to the field after his calf muscle injury and became the most productive player of the game with the Chicago Bulls – 112:103.

Source: Sport UA

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