Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo reflected on his development under former head coach Jason Kidd, revealing that Kidd once instructed him to stop taking jump shots entirely and focus on improving his ability to attack the basket.
Antetokounmpo explained that early in his NBA career, he was hesitant to drive toward the rim. Kidd wanted him to become more aggressive offensively while developing other aspects of his game, including positioning, post moves and pick-and-roll execution.
“There was times that J-Kidd told me, ‘You got to learn how to attack,’ because at first I was scared to attack… ‘You got to find angles. You got to be able to play the pick-and-roll better. You got to post up better.’”
According to Antetokounmpo, Kidd took an unusually strict approach by telling him not to attempt jump shots at all.
The decision contrasted with the attitudes of some of Milwaukee’s other young players, including Jabari Parker and Michael Carter-Williams, who were unwilling to abandon their perimeter shooting.
“So he told me not to shoot jump shot at all. And it was Jabari at the time or Michael Carter-Williams at the time, young players were like, ‘No, that’s not happening. We’re going to shoot threes, we’re going to shoot twos.’”
Unlike his teammates, Antetokounmpo accepted Kidd’s instructions. However, looking back on that period, he remains uncertain whether limiting his jump shots ultimately benefited his long-term development.
“And I said, ‘Okay.’ And did he help me or hurt me in my career? I don’t know. Time will tell.”
The two-time NBA MVP explained that his decision was motivated by a willingness to follow coaching instructions and improve the areas of his game that would eventually allow him to become a more complete offensive player.
“But I was willing to do whatever it took for me to figure out things within the game, to be in a position one day that I can control the game.”
Kidd coached Milwaukee from 2014 to 2018, overseeing an important period in Antetokounmpo’s development from a young prospect into an NBA All-Star.
