Last Wednesday, as a precautionary measure done in effort to limit the spread of coronavirus, the NBA postponed the remainder of its season indefinitely. Unfortunately, that decision—which was absolutely the right one—temporarily halted the Milwaukee Bucks championship run and paused Giannis Antetokounmpo’s campaign to win his second consecutive MVP.
Though his dominance on the court has been stopped for the time being, “The Greek Freak” is continuing to show he’s one of the league’s best in a few other ways. Friday afternoon, Antetokounmpo announced he would donate $100,000 to help pay the salaries of Fiserv Forum’s staff (a generous move that also prompted teammate Khris Middleton to donate $100,000 of his salary and the Bucks organization to match all player donations). Later in the weekend, the Bucks star—no doubt already feeling the impact of “social distancing”—earned attention in an entirely different way.
This ladies and gentlemen is why we all need basketball back… @Giannis_An34 🎸😂 pic.twitter.com/9F4aJIOIiW
— Mariah Danae (@mariahdanae15) March 15, 2020
Saturday night, Antetokounmpo’s girlfriend Mariah Riddlesprigger posted a video of the reigning MVP trying to play Deep Purple’s “Smoke On the Water” on an acoustic guitar. It was, um, less-than-impressive, but between his commendable actions and his upbeat attitude during a strange and difficult time, Antetokounmpo has been a ray of light during a time of doom, gloom, and isolation. Keep plucking, Giannis. We hope to see you back on the court (and nowhere near a guitar) soon.