Bucks head coach Jason Kidd expects Giannis Antetokounmpo to play all 5 positions

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd is serious in giving Giannis Antetokounmpo a chance to prove that he can play all five positions in basketball for the upcoming 2015-2016 NBA Season.

"There are a lot of things being thrown at me right now, but it's good. What's a better way to learn that spot than by playing it in the game,” Antetokounmpo said to Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel about the possibility that he would play multiple positions for the upcoming year. "It's hard but I'm learning to play both spots. If something changes in the starting five, I can move to the 4; I can move to the 3. It's versatility and it's great to have that."

Antetokounmpo played some minutes at the power forward position last year for the Bucks with the injury to rookie Jabari Parker, who is scheduled to rejoin the team this season. When Parker returns, he is expected to play the PF spot and Antetokounmpo can slide down to the small forward spot.

Kidd admitted that the move is by design and likes the versatile Greek’s attitude of not complaining about the decision to play him either in the backcourt or the frontcourt.

"He's 20 years old and he's going to play every position for us. He never complains. He just goes out there and plays,” Kidd, one of the younger coaches in the NBA, said of Antetokounmpo. "I think he's showing he's confident in shooting the three. He's confident while he's on the floor and he's doing a lot of good things for us."

Antetokounmpo, who is known for his length and athleticism, has improved his three-point shooting and ball-handling skills over the summer and Kidd may explore playing him at the point guard and shooting guard positions. Listed at 6-foot-11, Antetokounmpo can also potentially play the centre spot in Kidd's small ball line-ups.

Antetokounmpo will be entering just his third year in the NBA after averaging 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shots per game last season. Antetokounmpo also played consistently well in the recent FIBA Europe Championships logging in 9.8 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Greek basketball national team.

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