Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has been very vocal about how much it means to him to represent his country in the Paris Olympics. This is the first time the former back-to-back MVP has donned the Greek jersey in the Olympic Games, and Giannis has made it clear that he is not taking this honor lightly.
The Bucks have been nothing but supportive of Antetokounmpo’s noble objective. At the same time, you can’t blame general manager Jon Horst for feeling a bit apprehensive about his cornerstone superstar.
Milwaukee Bucks News: Jon Horst’s Giannis Antetokounmpo Confession
Horst, who along with head coach Doc Rivers is in Paris right now to support Giannis and the Greek national squad, admitted in a recent interview that he can’t help but feel anxious about Antetokounmpo’s participation in the international tournament. After all, there’s just no way to tell what will happen.
“So it’ll be that natural excitement balanced by you’re always worried watching guys, in my position,” Horst said of his trip to Paris, via Eric Nehm of The Athletoc. “But that’s not unique to the Olympics. That’s every day in practice. That’s preseason game No. 1 and regular season game 82, I always have a nervousness watching him play. But it’s not just him either. It’s every one of our guys and that’s sport.”
Simply put, this just comes with the territory.
In truth, Horst would not be doing his job if he wasn’t worrying about Antetokounmpo’s health in the Olympics. At the end of the day, however, there was no way the Bucks were preventing Giannis from fulfilling his dream of representing his home nation in the grandest of stages.
Antetokounmpo probably wouldn’t have let them stop him anyway.
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