After his disappointment from the loss in Game 5 and the exclusion from the play-offs, Giannis Antetokounmpo responded in a caustic way to a question from a journalist who spoke to him about failure.
The Greek Freak mentioned, among other things, Michael Jordan and the seasons he didn't get a championship, while he also talked about the adjustments the Bucks didn't make on Butler.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's statements
"Oh my God. You asked me the same thing last year. Do you get a promotion every year at your job? So, every year of yours is a failure? Every year you work towards one goal: To get a promotion, to take care of your family, to take care of your home. It is not a failure, but a step towards success. I don't want to make it personal with you, I'm talking in general.
There are always steps. Michael Jordan played 15 years and won 6 championships. Did the other 9 years fail? Is that what you're telling me? I ask you. Why are you asking me such a thing? It's the wrong question.
There is no such thing as failure in sports. There are good days and bad days. Sometimes you are successful, sometimes not. Sometimes it's your turn and sometimes it's not. This is sports. You don't always win. Someone else will win this year.
We want to come back next year and win the championship. It's been 50 years since we won a championship in Milwaukee. Was it 50 years of failure? No, they were just steps to success. We won a championship, I hope we win another one. Sorry I didn't mean to make it personal. Last year I didn't have the presence of mind to answer correctly, but I remember you asking me the same thing."
On marking Butler: “Yes I would. Out of respect you let the coach make the adjustments. We have our best defender on him. There are discussions with Holliday. When he gets tired I take over. He is competitive, plays hard and wants a challenge. But at the end of the day I wanted to brand him more.
Maybe we could double team more, switch for 2-3 minutes to give Jrue a rest. I don't think that as a team we did the right thing, or rather we didn't adapt to him as much as we should."
SOURCE: Protothema.gr