On the final day of All-Star Game voting, as the Bucks push for him to be named captain of the Eastern Conference team, Giannis Antetokounmpo added another highlight-reel play to his viral resume in Milwaukee's 104-95 win over the Wizards in Washington.
Amid a standout MLK Day performance, when he recorded his first-ever 20-20 game, with 27 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, Antetokounmpo once again blew up social media, this time midway through the fourth quarter with a very unconventional pass.
After a Wizards missed shot, Antetokounmpo picked up the loose ball and, facing his own basket, hiked it, football-style, down the court to teammate Khris Middleton, who had sprinted ahead. Middleton dunked it in to give Giannis his sixth assist, bring the Bucks to within 90-89 and spark the team's comeback, as Milwaukee outscored Washington, 15-5, down the stretch.
Hut, hut, HIKE!! 🏈 pic.twitter.com/GLhqoART9P — Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 15, 2018
We already knew Giannis can do whatever he wants on a basketball court, but after that play, the Green Bay Packers – who went through three different long snappers last season – may want to give him a call, after explaining how football works.
Mentioned to Giannis that it’s ironic that he, the guy who may be least acquainted with football, made the most football-like play today. He said maybe he could be a football player, a pitcher. He was then informed that the correct reference would be to a snapper. — Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) January 15, 2018
Next year, you may be able to vote for Antetokounmpo as a long snapper for the NFL Pro Bowl, but for now, make sure you vote for him for the NBA All-Star Game.
Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.
After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.
Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.
