Giannis had access to hoop after all: I lied to get ahead of competition

It turns out Giannis Antetokounmpo was not as deprived of basketball as he led everyone to believe.

The Milwaukee Bucks star said in early April that he did not have access to a hoop while he isolated at home during the season stoppage. However, he revealed Wednesday that was all a ruse.

"Anybody out there that thought I didn't have access to a gym, they don't even know me," Antetokounmpo said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Eric Woodyard. "So, I just said that to try to get a little bit ahead of the competition."

The Bucks forward previously said the team supplied him with workout equipment like an exercise bike, but he was unable to play any basketball, a hindrance that looked to jeopardize his chances of repeating as MVP.

While that wasn't the case, Antetokounmpo says more individual hardware isn't his priority; he'd rather help the Bucks win their first championship in 49 years.

"That's what happened last year. I was locked in and winning games and helping my teammates, and it took care of itself," he said. "So, that was my main focus. Now, I know it's going to be a lot of people out there talking about the MVP, but that's not my main focus."