Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee Bucks beat the odds last season when they returned from a 2-0 deficit in the 2021 NBA Finals, led by the Greek Freak, who dominated the series from start to finish.
After an offseason full of rumors suggesting Giannis wouldn’t re-sign with the Bucks and would test the waters of free agency, the two-time NBA MVP extended his stay with the team, agreeing to the largest contract in NBA history.
At the time, the decision was heavily criticized by fans and media members since nobody believed he could lead Milwaukee to the championship. Giannis proved the doubters wrong, defeating big rivals on the way to the Finals and finishing the job against the dangerous Suns that looked like favorites ahead of the series.
Talking with Zach Baron of GQ, the 26-year-old reflected on his journey to the championship, explaining he could have left the Bucks, but he decided to take the harder route and win with the team that drafted him.
“Everybody was texting me: ‘Leave the team,’ ” he told me—other players, some of whom haven’t talked to him since he decided to stay. He understood, he said. “It’s human. I will say I want to play with the best players; I wish K.D. was on my team, not against me. I wish LeBron was on my team, not against me. Steph, on my team.” And the winters in Milwaukee were cold—“cold as shit,” he specified. This would be an opportunity to never see another Milwaukee winter again. To raise his sons in a place where they might see the sun from time to time.
But there was something inside him that just wanted to do it the hard way, he realized. “I chose to stay here even with all the pressure because it’s easier to leave. That’s the easy thing to do. It’s easy to leave.”
Giannis explained there were plenty of things that made his exit very attractive, including playing for a big-market team, joining the Hollywood life and more. Still, he never entertained that idea, as he’s always gotten through the hard path to success.
There is an aversion to easiness with Giannis that can go deep. Easy is an epithet when he says it. Easy, in Giannis-world, describes almost everything that isn’t pain, that isn’t suffering, that isn’t taking on long odds and trying to beat those odds. He regards the usual perks of being a player in the modern NBA—partying in the better Los Angeles clubs, recording in the better Los Angeles music studios, acting in Hollywood—as, basically, frivolous: “Being in movies? Easy. Space Jam, all this? Easy. Easy. I don’t want it, though.” He is intent on life itself, by which he means the painful stuff of existence, the stuff that neither money nor ability can finesse. Life? “It’s hard, life.” Or at least, his was. He pointed at his chest: “It molds you to be this guy.”
“I think he’s never wanted to take an easy way out,” Saratsis said. “In every aspect of life. He wants to be challenged.”
He bet on himself and his team and that bet paid off. Antetokounmpo is now an NBA champion after a magical 2020/21 season where they defeated the Kevin Durant-led Brooklyn Nets and the inspired Atlanta Hawks to reach the biggest series of all.
In the end Giannis decided to stay in Milwaukee because it was difficult. And then, improbably, the Bucks won. “One challenge was to bring a championship here and we did,” he told me. “It was very hard, but we did. Very, very hard. I just love challenges. What’s the next challenge? The next challenge might not be here.” It’s not that he doesn’t love Milwaukee, he said. But he was always wary of things becoming too easy. “Me and my family chose to stay in this city that we all love and has taken care of us—for now,” Giannis said. “In two years, that might change. I’m being totally honest with you. I’m always honest. I love this city. I love this community. I want to help as much as possible.”
Did this mean he was thinking about…leaving? I asked his agent.
“I don’t think it’s, ‘I’m thinking about leaving the Bucks,’ ” Saratsis told me. “But I think he’s genuinely like: ‘Okay, I have reached the pinnacle. The next challenge is, let’s repeat.’ But what happens if you do repeat? What’s the next challenge? What is that next barrier? When you think about it from a basketball perspective, by the age of 26, this kid has accomplished everything,” Saratsis said. “So sometimes you’re going to have to manufacture what those challenges are.”
As you can see, Giannis is always trying to challenge himself. His beginnings weren’t easy and he had to work hard to make it to the league. After that, he worked to prove doubters wrong and become one of the best players in the association.
Antetokounmpo is a top 5 player right now and he’s working to become the best of the best. The Bucks found the gem that won them their first championship in 50 years. Even though this season has been difficult for the squad, Giannis is confident they can turn things around. He’s used to doing that, as he showed during the 2021 NBA playoffs.
