Sports Writing (USA), Apr 26 (EFE).- Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose Milwaukee Bucks lost surprisingly this Wednesday in the playoffs against the Miami Heat (1-4 in the series), made a long reflection on the success in the sport when a journalist asked him if he saw this season as “a failure”.
“(sigh) Oh my gosh… You asked me the same question last year. Do you get a promotion every year at your job? No, right? So every year you work is a failure? Yes or no? No, every year you work to achieve something, to achieve a goal: a promotion, taking care of your family… ”, he argued at a press conference.
“It is not a failure: they are steps towards success (…). Michael Jordan played 15 years and won six championships. Were the other nine a flop? Is that what you’re telling me? (…). It is a wrong question. There is no failure in sport. There are good days and bad days, some days you succeed and others you don’t (…). That’s what sport is about: you don’t always win,” he added.
The Greek star was confident that next year they could come back stronger and “play better” to aspire to another championship, but stressed that it is not about failure but about “steps towards success”.
“You know, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to get personal with you. You asked me the same thing last year and last year I was not in the right mindset to answer you, ”she said, apologizing to the journalist.
For the sixth time in NBA playoff history, the eighth seed from a conference (Miami) managed to eliminate the first seed (Milwaukee), something that had not happened since 2012, when the Philadelphia 76ers knocked out the Chicago Bulls.
Giannis added 38 points and 20 rebounds tonight (14 of 27 shooting, 10 of 23 from the personal line) in a Bucks that wasted a +16 in the last quarter and ended up falling in overtime after a volcanic encounter and with Alternatives for both teams (126-128)
“Everyone is in shock in the dressing room, obviously,” he said.
“For me, this has been our worst postseason (…). In the end, I think they were playing to win us and we were playing to win a championship, which is something I don’t understand. You could see that they were playing with a lot of energy, a lot of passion, all together, making it hard for us… I think we were a bit too hasty, to be honest,” he opined.
In any case, Antetokounmpo wanted to give “credit” to some Heat who “kicked their asses”, highlighted a Jimmy Butler (42 points) who made “difficult baskets” for Miami and urged his team to “feel” this pain in summer as “motivation” to return with more strength.
