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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.
“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
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.”
