If we’re being completely honest with one another, parsing through the national media the week after the All-Star Break in search of intriguing coverage of your Milwaukee Bucks can be a bit difficult. Really, NBA players are often off on vacation, at the All-Star Game itself, or in the rare instance, back at the training facility awaiting the return of competitive games.
And yet, here we are after a loss to the Utah Jazz and a victory yesterday afternoon over the Phoenix Suns, ready for the unofficial second half to go into full bloom. We’ll turn our attentions this week one last time back at the All-Star Game that was, check in on the future of Thon Maker’s prospects of playing international ball, and get some more arena news.
Let’s roundup!
Powerful Beyond Measure (SLAM Magazine)
A piece from SLAM featured a few weeks ago dives in to the transformation of Giannis from fresh-faced rookie to NBA star within the context of his native Greece.
When he first arrived in Milwaukee, his humble beginnings and wonderful success story were as much a part of what endeared him to the community as his abilities on the basketball court. Antetokounmpo’s success now reverberates more emphatically in his homeland as a representative for those who, as Dave Zirin puts it, “share his background, but don’t have the ability to put a ball in a hoop.”
The Evolution of Giannis (ESPN.com)
Our good friend Eric Nehm put together a fun article combining Giannis’s All-Star performance in an intriguing arc coinciding with the pre-game musical performances of the evening in New Orleans.
He works his way from “Simplicity” up to “Power” in convincing fashion. Plus, you get the chance to relive the performances both on and off the court.
Enjoy just one last trip back down memory lane!
Thon Maker wants to play for Australia (Sporting News/NBA Australia)
Welcome news for all of our Australian fans, and for those who enjoy international-level hoops. Thon Maker has made his interest in playing for the Australian national team known, though whether he’ll get a nod so early in his career for a pretty solid program remains to be seen.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see Maker taking part in more events within the Australian basketball program, and getting more practice time with a slew of other Aussie vets in the future has to be tantalizing. If he does make it to his national team, he’ll join Giannis, Matthew Dellavedova, and Mirza Teletovic as Bucks featuring for their respective nations in FIBA competition.
There is a ‘hustle’ colorway of Matthew Dellavedova’s signature shoe (SB Nation)
You may have heard from some corner of the internet that Milwaukee guard Matthew Dellavedova has a line of signature shoes coming out with Chinese shoemaker Peak.
The “Delly 1s”, as they have been called, will come in four initial colorways with creative names such as: “Down Under”, “College”, “Team Green”, and “Hustle”. The “Hustles” are, essentially, black shoes. There really isn’t much more to it.
You can take a look at all the colorways, and even get your first pair of Delly 1s for the affordable price of $122.00 (or $159.99 if you’re paying in Australian dollars).
Milwaukee Bucks to unveil NBA’s largest centerhung arena scoreboard (Sports Illustrated)
The Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Cowboys: Two franchises perhaps best known for having a gloried past and a run of painful failure for much of their recent history. Now, these two as-unconnected-as-you-can-get teams will have the chance to share the feat of having some of the largest scoreboards/video screens in their respective leagues.
Daktronics will be teaming up with the Bucks to provide a scoreboard that will reportedly hang over 3/4ths of the court in the new arena. It will feature a 360 degree ribbon stretching around the scoreboard for further graphics, and also screens in the underside for courtside and lower bowl visitors.
Check out a video preview of the scoreboard in the link, and be impressed!
The week ahead will be featuring a slate of four games including a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers this evening, and appearances by Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Toronto Raptors. I wouldn’t exactly call that the easiest stretch of schedule on the year, but let’s optimistically peg the projected record at 1-3, shall we?
Otherwise, we wish you all a happy end of February/start of March, and as always:
Happy Monday!