Source: Megan Briggs / Getty
The Milwaukee Bucks were the top seed in the east going into the postseason, but they’re packing their bags early.
Thanks to two heroic games by Jimmy Butler –which included a 54-point performance- the Miami Heat nearly swept the Bucks 4-1, leading to an awkward exit press conference.
Speaking to the media after an earlier-than-expected exit is sobering, perhaps for no more than Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo who didn’t take kindly to a reporter asking if he sees the season as a failure because his team didn’t make a deep run into the playoffs.
After missing Game 2 and Game 3 due to back injuries, Antetokounmpo made it clear in his response that just because you don’t reach your ultimate goal at the end of the year, it doesn’t mean everything you’ve done is worthless, as he tried to get the reporter to relate to him.
“You asked me the same question last year, I think. Do you get a promotion every year? No, right? So, every year you work is a failure? Yes or no? No. Every year you work, you work toward something – to a goal – which is to get a promotion, to be able to take care of your family, to be able to provide a house for them or take care of your parents. You work toward a goal. It’s not a failure. It’s steps to success,” he said.
The 2021 NBA Champ then brought up Michael Jordan, pondering if the seasons that didn’t end with him cradling the Larry O’Brien trophy were failures.
“Michael Jordan played 15 years. Won six championships. The other nine years was a failure?” he asked. “Exactly, so why you ask me that question. It’s the wrong question. There’s no failure in sports. There’s good days, bad days, some days you are able to be successful, some days you are not, some days it is your turn, some days it’s not. That’s what sports is about. You don’t always win.”
Antetokounmpo finishes the lengthy answer by explaining that winning is a process, and that very process helped the Bucks bring home their first ring in half a century.
“So, 50 years from 1971 to 2021 we didn’t win a championship, it was 50 years of failure? No, it was not. There were steps to it. And we were able to win one, and hopefully, we can win another one,” he ended.
See how Twitter is reacting to Antetokounmpo’s opinion on failure below.
