Antetokounmpo drawing on 'Giannis Wall' experiences in Finals

Giannis Antetokounmpo's inability to get to the rim contributed to the Milwaukee Bucks' downfall over the past two postseasons.

Both the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat experienced success by building a wall of defenders to keep Antetokounmpo away from the basket, and those experiences are fueling the two-time MVP's play this postseason.

"The first time I saw the wall was probably two years ago," Antetokounmpo told reporters Tuesday, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "But I was always capable of passing before that. It's something that I always liked to do. I had coaches and people throughout my career that helped me with finding the right guy, finding the right pass, making the right play.

"But once I started seeing the wall, two years ago, now it's almost, it's about trust. And it's kind of hard, because you want to be effective, you want to get downhill, you want to do everything."

Antetokounmpo is averaging 4.7 assists per contest through the first three games of The Finals and 5.1 dimes overall across 18 playoff appearances. And the Greek Freak's ability to create for his teammates has opened up plenty of high-percentage scoring opportunities for him around the rim.

Antetokounmpo is shooting an absurd 92.9% on a Finals-leading 28 field-goal attempts within the restricted area. The five-time All-NBA selection "took it personal" when opposing teams starting using the wall against him.

"Now you have to not take it personal and make the right play, find the right guy," he said. "I feel like I did that better since two years ago. ...

"You always got to find the fun factor. So, yeah, it is a compliment that there's got to be three people in front stopping me from getting in the paint and building that wall."