As a 2x MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the short list of players who can inherit LeBron’s kingdom when he eventually retires from the game. But according to Giannis himself, he’s not too concerned at all with how he ranks among the best. In a recent chat with Tomer Azarly, he explained his goal not to fall into any particular “bubble.”
“I refuse to fall into the bubble,” Giannis said. “I really refuse to fall into the bubble of being the face of the NBA, being an All-Star, being an MVP, being the best, whatever. I refuse to. When I take my kids to school, the teachers don’t tell me that I am the best basketball player, that yesterday I went 12-for-18. I don’t fall into the bubble, that’s a different world.”
Talent-wise, nobody can question that the Greek Freak is one of the best that there is but he doesn’t seem to want anything to do with being the face of the league and carrying the torch that LeBron James will leave behind.
“A lot of people will fight for this, fight for, ‘I want to be the face of the NBA.’ For what? You’ll be the face of the NBA and what happened? Are you a better basketball player? What does that mean? It doesn’t mean [anything],” said Giannis. “I don’t want this, I want to live life, a humble life, a modest life, a simple life, a quiet life, you know.”
Giannis doesn’t want the pressure of being the face of basketball, and it seems to be something he shares with most of the younger generation of superstars. From Luka Doncic to Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, a growing number of stars have denounced any interest in becoming the next face of NBA basketball and Giannis is the newest one to the list based on what he’s been saying over the past few years.
A Rough Stretch For Giannis And The Bucks
Giannis was embracing the NBA spotlight when he was winning MVPs and making deep playoff runs with the Bucks, but the tune has changed for him since the team has fallen on hard times. Last year’s first-round exit was arguably the lowest point of Giannis’ career and we saw first-hand as he struggled to make sense of the embarrassing defeat. For the front office, it forced them to reevaluate their position, which led to making some serious changes over the summer.
With Damian Lillard in tow, the Bucks were projected to be among the best teams in the NBA and a favorite to win the title this season. But from day one, it’s been nothing but chaos for this team and it’s been reflected by their play on the court.
At 35-21 this season, Milwaukee certainly hasn’t been terrible and there is still hope that Giannis can lift these guys to a better place. But their play has not been pretty so far, and the superstar duo that was supposed to take the NBA by storm has failed to click on virtually every level.
So far, there have been no answers on how to save the Bucks’ season and Giannis himself is seemingly doing everything he can to tamper expectations and brace himself for another potential playoff disappointment. But after winning the championship in 2022, Giannis has already set a certain standard of greatness for himself and he can’t blame anyone for holding him to that.
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