If you've ever wondered what it's like to call an NBA game featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo at the free throw line, Atlanta Hawks play-by-play man Bob Rathbun has some thoughts. And let's just say, he's not exactly signing up to call Bucks games anytime soon.
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During Atlanta's 119-104 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday, Rathbun didn't hold back while narrating Giannis' trips to the charity stripe. By the first quarter, he was already bracing for the worst: "I forgot to bring a book for these free throws. Ugh. This is so tedious."
Giannis, of course, has developed a reputation for pushing the 10-second limit at the line—a habit that hasn't exactly endeared him to opposing fans or announcers. Rathbun even called out the lack of enforcement: "They don't do the 10-second clock like they do in the other 29 arenas...We're ready!"
"His career high attempts, 32! That game must have taken four hours to play!" pic.twitter.com/coVgxOTMtn
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 5, 2024
It didn't stop there. As Giannis stared at the rim before his shot, Rathbun likened it to watching a golfer line up a putt. And when he learned that Giannis once attempted 32 free throws in a single game? That sent him over the edge. "His career high attempts, 32! That game must have taken four hours to play! At least you folks at home can get up and go to the refrigerator get a little sumthin' sumthin'. Here, it's just torture."
Love him or hate him, Giannis' deliberate pace at the line has become part of his mystique. But if you ask Rathbun, it's not exactly must-see TV. And Hawks fans? They're probably hoping that if Giannis ever tests free agency, Atlanta isn't on his shortlist.
Because let's be real—there's only so much Rathbun can take. And apparently, that limit is four trips to the line in the first two minutes.
