Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond calls his head coach, “The game-changer.” Giannis Antetokounmpo simply thanks the man above that Jason Kidd ended up as the coach of his team.

In just one year, Coach Kidd took the Bucks from the depths of the NBA standings to the Eastern Conference playoffs, but now in Year 2, Jason and John aren’t expecting another meteoric rise to the elite ranks of the league—instead, the duo is simply looking to show that they can be a consistent force in the East.

“We’re going to try to go from good to good,” Hammond told the Washington Post, quoting Kidd. “I think we were a surprise team this season. Nobody expected us to do what we did. Now, can we just be good again and gradually take that step. To go from good to great is often difficult. So we’re just trying to find some consistency, especially with our youth and build off that.”

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Hammond laid the building blocks for Jason in 2013 by drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo, and “The Greek Freak” showed flashes of potential in his first season in the league. But in Year 2, Jason arrived and tapped into that potential. Giannis embraced a role as a full-time starter, doubled his scoring output and solidified himself as one of the most promising players in the league.

“Thank God Jason Kidd came to our team,” Antetokounmpo told Sports Illustrated. “Allowing me to have the ball more in my hands, and for sure that builds my confidence up. Going into Year 3, hopefully he’ll give me the ball more and more and more, and try to make plays, and try to make my teammates better.”

The relationship between Jason and Giannis goes beyond just improving on the court. Giannis told SI’s Chris Mannix that he is always trying to get to know J-Kidd as a person, and knowing him J-Kidd the coach, he’s excited about the team’s future.

“He’s a great coach, and you know, more than anything he’s a cool guy. You can talk to him, after practice I always try to spend some time with him, try to joke around a little with him,” Giannis said of Jason. “He’s a great coach, you see the difference from 15 wins to 41 wins, and we’re just going to keep getting better. He’s going to make us better, because he’s going to keep improving too as a coach.”

With Giannis firmly at the center of Milwaukee’s youth movement, the versatile product of Greece now looks forward to the return of the second major piece of the Bucks future: last year’s No. 2 overall draft pick, Jabari Parker. The Duke product was spectacular early last year, showing off his impressive offensive arsenal before going down with an ACL injury.

The loss was a big blow for the Bucks, but as Giannis explained to Mannix, it also forced them to grow together without one of their top scorers. Hammond recently reported that Parker is progressing very well, and that they plan to ease him back into action, particularly early in the season.

Regardless of how Parker’s minute load shakes out, Giannis is looking forward to having No. 12 back in the mix in Jason’s offense.

“It was really comfortable,” Antetokounmpo said of playing with Parker. “Jabari draws a lot of attention, so he gives me a lot of room to attack through. And hopefully he’ll come back healthy and stronger than ever and it’s going to be a fine year with him.”

Both Giannis and Jabari bring star power to the Milwaukee franchise, and the Bucks added yet another major piece of the puzzle this offseason in center Greg Monroe. The former Detroit Piston was one of the most coveted free agents on the market this year, and his agent, David Falk, identified Jason’s track record among the many draws for Monroe in Milwaukee.

“I think he felt Milwaukee … with a very deep, young roster gave him the best opportunity to go deep into the playoffs immediately. That’s why he picked them,” Falk, said. “A great roster of young players, just missing one thing that hopefully he’ll provide.”

Milwaukee Bucks v Chicago Bulls

In one year, Jason took a franchise that was in a bit turmoil in Milwaukee, and gave it a strong foundation, the ability to attract free agents like Monroe, and now, the Bucks have a future as bright as any team in the NBA.

Jason was a representative of the team at an assembly event for the new Milwaukee arena funding initiative. And on Wednesday, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed the Milwaukee Bucks arena funding bill today at State Fair Park.

The Bucks are now set to contribute $250 million, while the bill signed by Walker commits another $250 from taxpayer money, which will grow to $400 million with interest over the next 20 years.

The new arena deal is an enormous hurdle cleared by the Bucks, and it was the main factor that will keep the Bucks from being relocated away from Milwaukee—a frightening possibility just months ago.

Now, Jason says, the goal is to hang a championship banner in the team’s new home.

“Will the new arena be hosting NBA Finals games within a few years? I’m not one to predict but I think we look forward to our future,” Jason said. “We have a chance to grow, get better each day and our goal is to hold that gold trophy in that new arena.”

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