Giannis Antetokounmpo: 'All-Star games are not built for me' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP - Scanpix Credit AFP - Scanpix

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a perennial All-Star now, starring in the weekend for the 6th year in a row. He is now also a member of the 75th-anniversary NBA team. However, he doesn't feel his most comfortable self during the All-Star match.

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“All-Star Games, they are not built for me. I come out here and try to enjoy the game as much as possible, but I don’t know how not to go hard," Giannis explained to the media. "I feel terrible when I’m walking around because I always try to go full speed no matter what I do because that’s the type of player I am.”

However, the Greek Freak was the All-Star Game MVP last year. This season, it was Stephen Curry who claimed the trophy, draining 16 three-pointers, which is the new All-Star game record.

“When you see a guy like Steph knocking down 3s like that and putting on a show, you don’t want him to lose the game,” Giannis said. “I thought he deserved to be the guy that won the MVP. I just tried to win the game and make plays that can help my team win. That was my mindset.”

Coming into the 4th quarter, Team LeBron, which Giannis was a part of, was trailing by one point. Although his team was not leading, it looked like Steph Curry was going to win the MVP honors anyway.

If such a nomination happened, Curry would have joined a very exclusive group of players who have become All-Star Game MVPs with their team losing the match. Only Magic Johnson (1990), Julius Ervin (1977), and Bob Pettit (1958) have achieved this feat in the league's history. All three players have been inducted into the 75th-anniversary NBA team.

The Greek Freak was the third-leading scorer of the game, collecting 30 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in the match. Team LeBron won the match 163-160 after team captain LeBron James hit a game-winning fadeaway jumper.

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