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Giannis Antetokoumpo overcame his biggest weakness in a historic NBA Finals performance after opposing fans mocked him

Jul 21, 2021, 11:08 IST
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Giannis Antetokounmpo. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo was mocked by opposing fans for his free throw shooting.
  • In the final game of the NBA Finals, he got the last laugh, hitting 17 of his 19 shots.
  • If you're going to come at Giannis, you best not miss.
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Giannis Antetokoumpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are NBA champions.

On Tuesday night, Antetokoumpo dominated every facet of Game 6 in one of the greatest performances in NBA Finals history.

Antetokoumpo stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 50 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks.

Wherever he was on the court, he was transcendent.

But the biggest shift in Antetokoumpo's performance on Tuesday night wasn't anything flashy, but rather his shooting from the free-throw line.

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Through the NBA Playoffs, Antetokoumpo had shot just 56% from the free-throw line. Despite being one of the best players in the league, Giannis was something of a liability at the line, and teams and opposing fans were eager to exploit the weakness.

When the Bucks played on the road, opposing crowds took to mocking Antetokoumpo through his foul shot. While every player will get their share of boos from the charity stripe, the jokes on Antetokoumpo were tailored just to him.

Giannis has an especially slow pre-shot routine, and players are only supposed to have 10 seconds to take their shot.

As Antetokoumpo stepped to the line to shoot, fans would start counting "ONE... TWO... THREE..." up to 10, willing referees to call him out for his slow play.

But on Tuesday night against the Suns, with the comfort of the home crowd supporting him, Giannis was near-perfect from the line, sinking 17 of his 19 free throws.

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Antetokoumpo's performance in Game 6 will live on for quite some time as one of the greatest in the history of the Finals. He was as dominant as a player can be from open play, but every point counts the same in basketball.

If Antetokoumpo had an average day from the foul line, the Suns would have been much closer to stealing the game, and the series very well might have been heading back to Phoenix for a decisive Game 7.

Instead, Giannis shut the door, shooting lights out from the line and lifting the trophy.

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