Jim Paschke spent years calling Milwaukee Bucks games from the broadcast booth, but his relationship with Giannis Antetokounmpo went far beyond the court.
Paschke, the longtime Bucks play-by-play announcer who called Antetokounmpo's career from the very beginning, said the superstar transformed not just the franchise, but the entire city.
"He changed the city. This might be tough for me because I remember that 18-year-old scrawny little kid coming in with a big smile on his face and just happy to be where he was," Paschke said. "Wasn't probably sure where he was, but he was happy to be there. He was by himself for the first time, away from his family for the first time. And he had boundless joy. And then that turned into boundless energy and boundless desire and effort and excellence. And so everything followed him to the point where he changed the city. And we love him."
One of Paschke's most memorable moments came after the Bucks won the NBA Championship, when Antetokounmpo wore an "I Heart Jim" shirt — a gesture Paschke said he will never forget.
At the time, Paschke was home alone, sidelined with COVID-19.
"I was alone at home with COVID sitting on my couch watching game six. And when Giannis did that, I got calls from top officials in the NBA very close to the top and they said, 'Jim, what's going on? We've never seen anything like this,'" Paschke said. "A professional athlete at the absolute pinnacle of his career, thinking about someone else, remembering other people. And it wasn't just me, it was coaches and people that were in a similar situation as I was."
Antetokounmpo was also part of Paschke's retirement announcement.
Beyond the personal moments, Paschke said Antetokounmpo even changed the mechanics of how he called games.
"I'd be, you know, okay, as I'm looking at my notes or looking at, you know, scores or team files over here. With him, I couldn't do that. If I took my eyes off the court for a second, he might do something and I'd miss it. And that happened to me many times until I figured out, I can't be anywhere but on him, all eyes on Giannis. And he did change how I had to mechanically do the game. So that's a wonderful thing. I mean, he was spectacular and, you know, everybody knows what he is… I got a front row seat to talk about it. It was wonderful," Paschke said.
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