Interviews roll on with the stars
Let’s keep things going with a new thread of quotes as the parade of Bucks continues here at Fiserv Forum. Before we do, a major tip of the cap to our friend Justin Garcia from WTMJ and Locked On Bucks for his quick transcripts. We’ll begin with Giannis’ availability.
Before his session, the world learned that Dikembe Mutombo had passed away at 58 years old due to brain cancer. Giannis shared his heartfelt wishes to his family:
#Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on the passing of Dikembe Mutombo:
“First of all, I want to wish his family my support, not just from me but from the Bucks organization. He will always be remembered, and may his soul rest in peace. https://t.co/ZYBJhbIDaj
— Jackson Gross (@JGrossBucks) September 30, 2024
He then moved on to discussing his health during the Olympics—which he called one of the best experiences of his life—on the heels of missing the playoffs with a soleus strain:
Giannis on if he was playing hurt in Paris: “I don’t know if I was playing hurt. But I was a little bit banged up… I’m always banged up. [paraphrasing now] But I like playing banged up.” Says it gives him an edge.
— Van Fayaz (@lohausfan) September 30, 2024
Next, the topic of other Eastern teams’ transactions came up, and Giannis gave a pretty candid response:
Giannis on East rivals’ offseason transactions: “I’m gonna be honest with you: I haven’t paid attention to the moves the other teams made… I don’t let my mind travel to different places that I cannot control… the most important thing to me is to be available.”
— Van Fayaz (@lohausfan) September 30, 2024
And then, the ever-popular topic of his two-man game with Damian Lillard:
Dame Pairing:
“I gotta give him more space. Understanding where he likes to operate, what moment of the game he likes to go. He’s a pure PG and I like to get the ball off the glass on go. It took us a little bit of time to understand that but now we’re in a very good place” https://t.co/1MnXzShTiS— Justin García | @justinagarcia.bsky.social (@JustinGarciaNBA) September 30, 2024
He also mentioned that while he didn’t get a chance to work out with Dame this summer, the two were in contact consistently:
“I didn’t get a chance to work with Dame in the offseason. I had the Olympics, then I was in Greece and getting married. I was hurt early too. We talked a lot though” https://t.co/RvDnfh3DGD
— Justin García | @justinagarcia.bsky.social (@JustinGarciaNBA) September 30, 2024
In a less serious mood, Giannis was asked about which Greek god he would be:
Giannis is asked if he could be a Greek god, who would you be?
“You want me to say Zeus?”
“Hercules?”
“No, he was a demigod.”
He then goes with Aphrodite. Some confusion about whether or not she was the goddess of love (this is what Giannis thought) or beauty.
— Van Fayaz (@lohausfan) September 30, 2024
It was a busy summer for the two-time League MVP, between his trip to Paris for the Olympics, he also finally tied the knot with fiance Mariah Riddlesprigger. When asked about finally getting married, this was the Greek Freak’s response:
A sheepish grin comes over Giannis’ face when asked about the wedding: “I’m very happy we were able to get this done. I was feeling some heat for a long time.”
What was his favorite part of the wedding?
“The wedding night. AFTER the wedding.”
Good lord, this freaking guy.
— Van Fayaz (@lohausfan) September 30, 2024
He also gave us an update on his big brother, who tore his Achilles in May and did not re-sign with the team this summer as he recovers:
Giannis says that Thanasis’ recovery is going well. “His energy will be missed. Here in the media room, the locker room… everyone loves him. I don’t know why.” [room laughs]
— Van Fayaz (@lohausfan) September 30, 2024
Next up was Khris Middleton. Middleton did confirm during his session that the two ankle surgeries he had were because of the injuries he sustained in Phoenix back in February on his left ankle and then during the playoffs on his right one:
Khris Middleton confirmed that the two ankle surgeries he had were because of the injuries he sustained in Phoenix in February and in the playoffs in April. #Bucks #FearTheDeer
— Jackson Gross (@JGrossBucks) September 30, 2024
While he won’t be out there during much of the live-action activities during training camp, he will still be doing plenty to keep himself up to speed with the rest of the team:
“I’ll be missing a little bit of important time in 5-on-5s but I’m able to be out there, going through reads, talking about spacing. Its gonna suck though not going through those full speed live reads at the beginning. We won’t be playing catch up as much though” https://t.co/T5FYJOVHdv
— Justin García | @justinagarcia.bsky.social (@JustinGarciaNBA) September 30, 2024
Khris also made a bit of political news, with him endorsing Vice President and current Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris in the 2024 election:
Khris Middleton endorses Kamala Harris for president. #HarrisWalz2024
— Van Fayaz (@lohausfan) September 30, 2024
New point guard Delon Wright also took questions from the media. One of the three newest Bucks talked about his potential fit next to Damian Lillard and how he’s learned to play with other guards like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Kyle Lowry:
“My whole career I’ve played with good guards and was able to play next to them, guarding their position if needed. Its one of the things coach Casey harped on when I was younger, guarding bigger players will let you stay on the court longer” https://t.co/mJmQeNLEta
— Justin García | @justinagarcia.bsky.social (@JustinGarciaNBA) September 30, 2024
Wright also brought up his potential impacts on this team, especially on the defensive end:
Delon Wright when asked about his defensive impact:
“Being able to guard the point of attack. That’s something I take pride in, playing defense, being able to stop my man, getting steals, doing the little things defensively to help the team win. pic.twitter.com/SZmJdRyKqb
— Bucks Lead (@BucksLead) September 30, 2024