“There is no failure in sport. There are good days and bad days,” said Giannis Anatetokounmpo, barely containing his irritation, after the surprise elimination of the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the NBA play-offs by the Miami Heat.
To a journalist asking him if this season will have been a failure, the double MVP (2019, 2020) replied curtly: “You asked me the same question last year (after the elimination in the conference semi-finals against Boston, editor’s note). And you ? Do you have a promotion every year? No, is that it? So does every year of hard work result in failure? Yes or no ? No”.
“Every year you work towards a goal. There are steps to success. Michael Jordan played 15 years and won six championships. Have the other nine years been a failure?” he insisted. “There are days when you can succeed, others when you can’t. There are days when it’s your turn, and days when it’s not your turn. We don’t always win. And this year, another team will win. From 1971 to 2021 we didn’t win a championship for 50 years, was that 50 years of failure? No. It was stages and we ended up being ready to win one. And I hope we will win another,” Antetokounmpo continued.
During the fatal defeat against the Heat on his floor (128-126 a.p.), the Greek Freak (the Greek monster) did not deserve with 38 points and 20 rebounds to his credit. But he failed in the exercise of the free throw, succeeding only 10 out of 23 attempted. “I did not know how to put enough. That is just about everything. If I had put those shots, the situation would be different. There are days when you succeed, others when you miss. Today was one of those days…”, he breathed.
“I will come back next year, I will take good habits, I will try to be better and I hope to win back a championship,” promised Antetokounmpo, who is only 28, adding: “I will remember it and I don’t want to find myself in that situation again. But it’s basketball, so I’m probably going to find myself in this situation.
