WIDENING HIS STANCE and adjusting the grip of his nearly 10-inch hands on a plastic yellow bat, Giannis Antetokounmpo was determined to make contact with the little white ball.
It was a chilly day in April 2019, and Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer shook up his team's daily routine, converting the basketball courts into a makeshift Wiffle ball diamond. The dominance Antetokounmpo exhibits in Bucks scrimmages didn't translate.
Sometimes, he would swing the bat with impressive force but miss the ball completely. Other times, he would pop the ball straight up toward the rafters. Again and again, he would swing -- but he couldn't get into the rhythm that many 11-year-old summer campers can master.
That afternoon, his girlfriend, Mariah Riddlesprigger, asked about the game.