Giannis Antetokounmpo and Link.
Aside from sharing the same agent, they had originally been two completely unrelated players.
But in truth, Antetokounmpo had always greatly admired Link, who was represented by the same agent.
Link's journey from an unknown undrafted player to a league superstar had always been the motivation driving Antetokounmpo to keep improving.
Though the two could not exactly be called close friends, they often communicated privately.
After the Grizzlies were eliminated by the Thunder in last season's Western Conference Finals, Antetokounmpo had even said, "No matter who wins the championship in the end, he won't be the best player in the league, because the best player in the league wears a Grizzlies jersey."
For Antetokounmpo to openly support Link and the Grizzlies like that was enough to prove his respect and admiration for Link.
It was just that, at the time, Antetokounmpo had still been an inconspicuous minor player, so few people paid attention to what he said.
This young man who could not shoot threes, averaged fewer than 20 points per game, and had not led his team to the playoffs had only earned some recognition among a small group of fans.
When people mentioned the Bucks, they most often talked about 2014's second overall pick Jabari Parker, Greg Monroe, the increasingly star-like Middleton, head coach Jason Kidd, or even Larry Sanders, who claimed he had given up basketball for art.
Giannis Antetokounmpo? Many people could not even pronounce the name.
But this year, though the season had only just begun, Giannis Antetokounmpo's name was appearing in reports more and more often, becoming increasingly familiar to the public.
Because this year, the "Greek Freak" had officially begun his rampage through the league!
On October 26, the Bucks hosted the Hornets in their home opener.
Although the