NEW YORK – Because they have a giant with arms and legs so preposterous, it’s as if an arachnid snuck into the lab to alter his creation; because they have an interchangeable forward who is proving, once and for all, that players formerly known as “tweeners” have won; and because they have a coach crazy enough to experiment with and extract the bounds of their talents, the Milwaukee Bucks are in a unique position to challenge the way the NBA game is currently played.

The Bucks aren’t ready to necessarily gyro step into contention – in one of those land-gobbling swoops from Milwaukee’s rising star from Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo – with a still-developing core, but they are getting closer to becoming relevant in a league in which three-point proficiency leads to prominence and small ball can result in dominance. Milwaukee has decided that the best way to zag while every other team zigs is to go bigger. But not go bigger in a pounding, plodding way. Bigger with Antetokounmpo, a 6-foot-11 primary facilitator grabbing rebounds and beating the little guys down the floor for violent dunks, and bigger with versatile wings like 6-8 Jabari Parker, who would rather punish smaller foes inside than force them to come out to the perimeter.

General manager John Hammond won’t attempt to act as if the Bucks had some grand vision to build in this manner, but drafting Antetokounmpo and long-armed center John Henson, dealing for trade throw-in-turned-building block Khris Middleton and then stumbling into Parker after an unplanned tanking season made it easier to take a different approach. Last summer, the Bucks decided to add another tweener in Michael Beasley and drafted a 7-footer with wide-ranging talents when it took Thon Maker with the 10th pick. The Bucks are bringing Maker along slowly, but the organization is high on his potential to follow Antetokounmpo’s path from international mystery to reliable contributor.

“We all do the best we can, and try to put the best players we can on our roster and hopefully it fits into a workable team,” Hammond told The Vertical. “Every team is hoping to have those kind of players that you can build around. We’re hoping that that’s what a player like [Giannis] can become and Jabari can become. I think they’re continuing to improve and our team is continuing to improve.”

Bucks reserve Jason Terry, an 18-year veteran who has experienced almost everything – including recently having J.R. Smith surrender a dunk so that he could give Terry some dap on the bench – hasn’t seen a team assembled with so much length and versatility since the Detroit Pistons overwhelmed the league to win the 2004 NBA title. But he also notes a significant difference with the Bucks that should have the rest of the league intrigued and worried the next few years. “You’ve got a guy who plays one through five in Giannis,” Terry told The Vertical with a laugh. “Who has that? Nobody has ever had that.”

Terry’s not quite sure what to call a style of play that utilizes such a towering figure in the role of playmaker – other than reaching for “tall ball.”

“Really no name for it,” Terry told The Vertical. “It’s length, and it’s aggressive. That’s all I know.”

Tall ball wouldn’t have a chance to be implemented nor succeed without Antetokounmpo, whose passing, improving jumper, gambling defense and violent encounters with the rim have already led to a $100 million extension and should soon yield an All-Star appearance.

There isn’t a player in the league like Giannis Antetokounmpo. (Getty Images) More

Coach Jason Kidd has trusted Antetokounmpo with the ball the way no other coach has with someone that height. Kidd called Antetokounmpo “one of those rare birds” who could potentially change the game like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Only four years removed from his Hall of Fame career as a point guard, Kidd understands what it takes to run a team and also why it is a waste of time trying to attach a title such as point center, point forward or even point guard to such an unorthodox player as Antetokounmpo.

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