Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo gradually became one of the most dominant forwards in the NBA. He started his career as a raw talent with a slim and lanky build. From there, he slowly developed his body and game, combining speed and strength, making him an unstoppable force in the league. Since then, Antetokounmpo has emerged as one of the top players, receiving praise from former teammates.
However, the Greek Freak couldn’t do it by himself. He had help from other stars and veterans. One of the stars who helped Antetokounmpo in his development is former star Kevin Garnett. Like the 2021 Finals MVP, KG was one of the most explosive and intense stars during his 21-year career in the NBA.
The former Boston Celtics star appeared in the recent episode of the show “Hear District.” During his guest appearance, he revealed that he helped unlock something in Antetokounmpo, which was the result of their offseason workout together.
“He was very respectful and he was very timid,” Garnett said about Giannis Antetokounmpo. “He wouldn’t look me in the face. He would look down. He would be listening, and then I started making him look at me… I’m giving it to him, and then he’ll just nod his head and look.
“And then, as I started working with him a little more, I noticed that he had a fire that he wanted to let out. I didn’t have time to show him all of it, but I showed him things that I thought that could have absolutely helped him day one. Early Giannis was timid until he actually dialed into the knowledge and then he applied the knowledge which is the difference in a lot of things.”
"He had a fire that he wanted to let out." 🔥
@KevinGarnett5KG reflects on his first impressions of Giannis & his legendary work ethic on a new episode of Hear District.🎥 WATCH: https://t.co/53muOYzidO pic.twitter.com/dMpbdg7Bw6
— Bucks+ (@BucksPlusAudio) August 12, 2025
Garnett’s mentorship helped Antetokounmpo become one of the most feared players currently. It also encouraged the star forward to be more expressive and play an intense brand of basketball.
Garnett’s former teammate shared a story about his criticism of the Milwaukee Bucks star
Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins has had some of the hottest takes about the Milwaukee Bucks star. The most famous criticism he gave about Antetokounmpo was about him being Robin, while All-Star forward Khris Middleton was the Batman of the team.
During an episode of the podcast “Road Trippin’,” Perk revealed that he received death threats from fans for comparing Antetokounmpo to Batman’s sidekick.
“I started getting a death threat,” Perkins said. “It was going like to, to my wife’s account and stuff like that. This dude was sending me threat after threat after threat. ‘I’m gonna kill your kids’, ‘Soon as you get there, I know where you stay’, ‘I’m gonna murder you’, like this is real life.'”
Perk claimed that he informed ESPN about it, and the network was quick to take action. The death threats sent by the fan resulted in imprisonment.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
