Watch: Giannis Antetokounmpo hilariously demands shoe swap from Damian Lillard while gifting Freak 5 to entire Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo's Nike Freak 5 was released in July. And before the regular season starts, the Greek Freak has done his annual ritual: distributing his signature shoe to his teammates and the staff at the Milwaukee Bucks' facility.
In the video that Giannis posted on X (Twitter), he whispered "I do this every year." His teammates on the other side of the facility shouted, "It's Freaky Time." All players from the Bucks squad, including Khris Middleton, Damian Lillard, Brook Lopez and others received his latest Nike signature shoe.
Antetokuonmpo hilariously told Lillard, who has his own signature line with Adidas, to give him one of his signature shoes in return.
Earlier this year, Giannis was on tour to China to promote his fifth signature sneaker with Nike. On July 21, Nike released the much-anticipated shoes. The Freak 5 comes in two colorways and is themed to tell the story of the two-time MVP’s rise to prominence.
The latest version comes with upgraded technology. The cushion in the shoe is provided by the foam midsole, which is springy and features a Zoom Air unit in the forefoot. Perhaps the most defining part of the shoe is the internal containment system and advanced traction, which is built to absorb explosive jumps.
Giannis Antetokounmpo refuses to compare his duo with Damian Lillard to all-time greats
The Milwaukee Bucks won their first NBA title in 1971 behind Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard is being compared to the Oscar-Kareem duo. However, Antetokounmpo thinks that it is too early to compare him to the former greats.
Antetokounmpo said that he and Lillard should not be compared to great duos in history yet. He said Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal and Kareem-Oscar won titles together.
“We haven’t won anything,” Antetokounmpo told Andscape. “There’s going to be a lot of hype around us, but we haven’t done anything. We haven’t even played a game yet … So, we can talk about it all day, but at the end of the day, our actions speak louder than words. But we have an opportunity to do something great, and that’s exciting for me."
After the Bucks fired their coach Mike Budenholzer, they hired Adrian Griffin. The Bucks were the first seed in the Eastern Conference last season but lost in the first round to the Heat. Following that, they made some big changes, which included trading away one of their best players in Jrue Holiday.