Imagine a college basketball team led by the greatest coach in the sport and the NBA’s biggest star.
Had Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo attended college—and gone to the school of his choice—he would’ve joined Seth Curry, Mason Plumlee and coach Mike Krzyzewski in Duke’s 2012–13 bid for an NCAA title. That’s, at least, what he told For The Win in a Q&A published Thursday when asked which program he wished he could’ve played for.
“Definitely Duke,” he said. “I like Duke because of the players that came out of that program. You usually see a lot of four men that don’t fit the mold. I think I’m one of those guys. I’m 6’11” and I can handle the ball and pass the ball and get in the paint. You see a lot of people like that who came out of that program: Zion Williamson, Jabari Parker, Jayson Tatum, and Brandon Ingram. Not only are they very good basketball-wise but academically it’s also a great school.”
The year the Greek Freak would’ve been a freshman, he was living in an Athens suburb playing for the Greek club Filathlitikos. In the 2013 NBA draft, Milwaukee took him with the No. 15 pick. The rest is history, as his decade-and-counting in the league have been highlighted by an NBA championship, seven All-Star selections, two MVP awards and more.
The Blue Devils may have been able to use Antetokounmpo in the 2012–13 season. After going 32–6 in the regular season, they fell to Maryland in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals before earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. They’d reach Elite Eight before falling to No. 1 Louisville, the eventual national champions.
When asked if he wished he had the opportunity to play college ball, Antetokounmpo noted the lifestyle as something he wish he could’ve experienced.
“That’s a really good question, actually,” he said. “I do think about it a lot. You see all these college players when they make it to the league, they talk about their experience and how fun it was, and how different the environment was for them. I came to the NBA when I was 18. I didn’t have the opportunity to experience being around classmates: Lift weights in the morning, go to class, then go to practice, and see all the fans at the game. I did not have the chance to experience that. I came immediately here. So I would definitely have wanted to go to college and have that experience. When I was 15, I was ‘highly recruited’ by Old Dominion. That was my only offer.”
Antetokounmpo was ruled out with illness in the Bucks’ matchup against the Magic on Tuesday. Milwaukee (47–18) currently holds the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.
