Giannis Antetokounmpo is now widely regarded as the best player in the NBA, but it would appear there was a real possibility that he wouldn’t have even been playing in the league today.
Antetokounmpo shockingly revealed during an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that he considered retiring in 2020.
“If something doesn’t make me happy, I don’t do it,” Giannis told Lori Nickel. “I don’t want to do it. I’m just going to stay home, stay with my kids, stay with my family and try to be happy. I don’t care.
“And this was right when I signed the largest contract in NBA history.
“In 2020, I was ready to walk away from the game. I had that conversation – yes – with the front office.
“And, you know, very normally, everybody is looking at me like I was crazy. ‘You just signed the largest contract in NBA history and you want to walk away from the game and all that money…?’
“Mannnnn, you can take that money and shove it into your…”
COVID-19 locking down the world and the stress that comes with the high expectations people had from him as one of the best players in the league, took a heavy toll on Giannis’ mental health. He was no longer having fun on the court and realized what the likes of DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love were going through when they had spoken about their mental health issues.
Giannis couldn’t understand their problems when they had initially spoken out, but as time went by and he became an MVP, he realized just how draining it can be mentally. He decided to seek some help in the form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and he told Nickel that it worked.
“I kept talking with this (counselor). He helped me a lot – not just being a better basketball player, being able to deal with it; but being a better partner, better father, better brother, better son. Better person. Being not locked into myself, being able to give people what I feel. Because at one point, I was trying to get away from everybody. And that’s not me; I’m very social. I like to interact with other people.”
Money can’t buy happiness and that five-year, $228 million extension he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks meant nothing to Giannis considering everything else he was going through. Speaking to the therapist helped him come out of it and he has now made it his mission to help others who are suffering from mental health issues, with the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Believes He Has Been The MVP The Last Five Years
Giannis’ decision to not walk away from the game turned out pretty well for him. He would finally get his hands on that elusive championship in 2021 and his Bucks are among the favorites to win it this year. Antetokounmpo established himself in the eyes of many as the best player in the league in 2021, but he hasn’t won an MVP since then.
He last won the award in 2019 and 2020 and Antetkounmpo feels he should have won it in each of the last five years. While that is up for debate, there is no denying he has been utterly dominant on the court for years now. This season has been arguably his best one, as he has averaged 31.1 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 5.7 APG. He has his eyes set on winning another title and you certainly wouldn’t bet against him.
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