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Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose Milwaukee Bucks surprisingly fell in the playoffs against the Miami Heat on Wednesday (1-4 in the series), made a long reflection on success in sports when a journalist asked him if he saw this season as a "failure".
"(sigh) Oh my god... 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 in a press conference.
"It's not a failure: they are steps towards success (...). Michael Jordan played 15 years and won six championships. Were the other nine failures? Is that what you're telling me? (...). It's a wrong question. There is no failure in sports. There are good days and bad days, some days you succeed and others you don't (...). That's what sports is about: you don't always win", he added.
The Greek star expressed confidence that next year they can come back stronger and "play better" to aspire to another championship, but stressed that it's not about failures but "steps towards success".
"You know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it personal with you. You asked me the same question last year and last year I wasn't in the right mindset to answer you", he apologized to the journalist.
For the sixth time in NBA playoff history, the eighth seed in a conference (Miami) managed to eliminate the top favorite (Milwaukee), something that hadn't happened since 2012 when the Philadelphia 76ers knocked out the Chicago Bulls.
Giannis scored 38 points and grabbed 20 rebounds tonight (14 for 27 shooting, 10 for 23 from the free-throw line) in a Bucks team that wasted a +16 lead in the fourth quarter and ended up losing in overtime after a volcanic and back-and-forth game (126-128) "Everyone is in shock in the locker room, obviously", he said.
"For me, this has been our worst postseason (...). In the end, I think they were playing to beat 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 tough for us... I think we rushed a bit, to be honest", he commented.
In any case, Antetokounmpo wanted to give "credit" to a Heat team that "kicked our ass", highlighted a Jimmy Butler (42 points) who made "difficult baskets" for Miami, and encouraged his team to "feel" this pain in the summer as "motivation" to come back stronger.
EFE.