Group A is the most complicated group in the men’s basketball tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics, already designated as the “group of death” and Spain is in it, which makes progress to the next round very difficult as they will have to play against high-level teams such as Australia, Greece and Canada, led by Spaniard Jordi Fernández. That is why, after the initial defeat, Spain vs Greece is essential for qualification.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his free throws at the time limit
There is no doubt that, if we talk about basketball in Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the big star, also confirmed by his career in the NBA. Spain’s great rival in the group stage of the 2024 Paris Olympics in the second match, and all eyes are on the Milwaukee Bucks player as one of the main attractions.
The appearance of Giannis Antetokounmpo in Greece has brought the team back to the Olympics with a roster full of Euroleague players who are shielding the NBA. In the game against Spain, whose plan is to defend well against the Bucks player, one question has once again emerged in the middle of the Olympic tournament.
— Sadbo (@Sadbomary) July 30, 2024
It is the fact of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s strange free throw ritual, which takes him about 10 seconds to shoot from the free throw line, which is not unusual to see him doing because he is one of the players who is in the zone and who is most defended due to his talent and quality.
Why is Giannis Antetokounmpo taking so long to shoot free throws?
There is no real explanation for why Giannis Antetokounmpo takes so long to shoot free throws. In fact, the player himself has said that it is just part of his routine:
Sounds like Nets fans are doing the Giannis counter. You can hear James Harden angrily yell “YO!” while waving his arms in the air. pic.twitter.com/sh5MxjvcMT
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) June 18, 2021
“I take eight to nine seconds. At the limit of 10 seconds. When my coaching staff tells me to speed up, I know I have maybe around 10 seconds. Or sometimes the referee will talk to me and say, ‘You have to speed up.’ Then I make an effort to take it maybe a second or two seconds faster. But my mindset going into this game was to go through my routine, do as many dribbles as I can, catch my breath and just get my shot off,” he explained to American media in 2021.
In fact, the 10 seconds that Antetokounmpo usually takes to take free throws has become one of his trademarks, but he has also raised hackles among rivals like James Harden or even made the entire stadium count to ten for his free throw from the personal line in a gesture that went viral.
