5 quotes by Giannis Antetokounmpo which reflect the Greek Freak's winning mentality

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a proven winner. Not only has he won two back-to-back regular season MVP awards (2019 and 2020), he also added the 2021 Finals MVP award to his kitty when he helped the Milwaukee Bucks win the 2021 NBA Finals. Giannis is also a five-time NBA All-Star, a 2020 Defensive Player of the Year winner and recipient of the 2017 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year winner. In a nutshell, Giannis Antetokounmpo is all about winning.

And Giannis Antetokounmpo’s obsession with winning reflects not just in his stats, his game on the court, his awards and trophies, but in his mentality as well. He constantly talks about not being satisfied. When he achieves something, he wants more of it. When he scales one peak, he wants to scale the next one. This winning mentality is reflected in the statements that Giannis has made ever since his Milwaukee Bucks found themselves in the 2021 NBA Finals.

So here’s a quick recap of the best remarks made by Giannis Antetokounmpo over the last few months, which tell us that the Greek Freak is all about winning.

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5) “I am still hunting the All-Time greats,” says Giannis Antetokounmpo

Despite putting up one of the all-time great Finals performances in the 2021 NBA Finals, Giannis is clear that he is not the best player in the world. In fact, in a recent interview with Greek television channel COSMOTE TV, Giannis said that he chasing the all-time great players in the league.

“I like being a hunter. I am not the best player in the world. I am telling you, I am not! KD, LeBron, Kawhi, Luka, Curry, AD might be. I am not. I am still hunting the All-Time greats. LeBron is still the best player in the world,” said the Greek Freak.

4) “I don’t want anything holding me back,” claims Giannis

2021 NBA Finals Game Six - Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo

In the very same interview, Giannis also explained why he doesn’t train with other players or why he doesn’t want to build an off-court relationship with them. Very simply, it gets in the way of his competitiveness. And Giannis Antetokounmpo, as we all know now, loves competition.

“I can’t be fake. I am Giannis. But calling me MVP, calling me champ, calling me the best player in the world, is something that might hold me back. And I don’t want anything holding me back. I want to look forward and be better. That’s why I don’t train with other players. I don’t want to be buddy with them. If we do this and then drink a coffee with them, can I go in the court and use my elbow against them? Can I block or dunk on them? I can’t cause I am authentic. If I love someone, I love him also on the court. I am fully aware of that and I don’t want to put myself in this position.”

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3) “I love playing in the Finals,” remarks Giannis

Soon after winning the 2021 NBA Finals, Giannis Antetokounmpo sat with reporters for a media session. With the Larry O’Brien trophy in one arm and the Bill Russell Finals MVP award in his other arm, Giannis was a mix of happiness and emotion. But as always he spoke with great honesty. He said he enjoyed being in the Finals, which should sound like a warning bell for his opponents around the league.

“This is an addictive feeling. I love playing in the playoffs. I love playing in the Finals. I love playing when the ball is heavy. This is the moments I want to chase. I want the team to build off this, and hopefully we can do it again,” he said.

2) “I'm not even close to being satisfied,” states Giannis

Giannis Antetokounmpo has come prepared for the start of the 2021-22 NBA season. On Media Day that was held for most NBA teams on September 27, Giannis shared that he was ready to set the tone for his team because he wasn’t even close to being where he wants to be in terms of his NBA goals.

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“Are we satisfied? I'm not satisfied. I'm not even close to being satisfied. That’s the tone we’ve got to set as a team. And as a leader of this team that’s the tone I’m going to set. We understand that teams are coming for us but we’re going to be ready. Hopefully, we can be ready and build good habits, good winning habits, play together and compete and come for them too.”

1) “When you focus on your past, that’s your ego”, says Giannis Antetokounmpo

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This quote is perhaps the best of all the remarks that Giannis Antetokounmpo has made. This came during a media session after Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Milwaukee. The Bucks had just rallied from an 0-2 deficit against the Phoenix Suns to tie the series 2-2. Giannis had a monster Game 4, going for 26 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks.

But his biggest moment came when a reporter asked him how he had learned to keep his ego in check despite accomplishing so much in life at so young an age. Giannis’ answer was just about as good as it gets.

“I’ll say life,” Antetokounmpo started. “Usually when, from my experience, when I think about ‘oh yeah, I did this, I’m so great. I had 30. I had 25-10-10’ or whatever the case might be, because you’re going to think about that, ‘oh we won this and that,’ usually the next day you’re going to suck. As simple as that. Like the next few days you’re going to be terrible. I figured a mindset to have, when you focus on the past that’s your ego. ‘I did this. We were able to beat this team 4-0. I did this in the past. I won that in the past.’

“And when I focus on the future it’s my pride. Like ‘yeah, next game, Game 5, I do this and this and this, I’m going to dominate.’ That’s your pride talking. It doesn’t happen. You’re right here. I kind of try to focus in the moment. In the present. That’s humility. That’s being humble. That’s setting no expectations, going out there and enjoying the game. Competing at a high level.

“I think I’ve had people throughout my life that’s helped me with that but that’s a skill that I’ve tried to like perfect it. And it’s been working so far, so I’m not going to stop.”