Giannis Antetokounmpo talks about his ‘’give 100% in every game” approach and his impression of being, sometimes, taken for granted.
Being taken for granted
“I don’t think I am the first, I don’t think I am the last. I feel people take for granted KD, people take for granted LeBron James. People take for granted Steph,” he says after his return from a series of injuries that kept him away, but not for long. “You see all this greatness every day and you take it for granted. Until one day they’re not there anymore and then you like’ Oh I miss those guys. I miss the show that they put on’.”
Focus: Enjoying the game of basketball and giving 100%
The amazingly talented Greek player accepts this reality and focuses on having fun on the court playing the game he loves. “Because when I will stop enjoying the game of basketball, it’s over […] I can’t control if other people take it for granted, but I can control I don’t take it for granted. When I go out there I try to give everything I have,” he explains. “In the All Star Game I only played 10 seconds? That’s all I had. Against Miami at home, I don’t know how much I played, that’s all I had…If I keep on giving everything I have and I don’t take it for granted, I am ok.”
“People don’t take me seriously when I am hurt”
Giannis joked about the ‘bad thing’: When he went home and told his significant other he was hurt and she dismissed him with a “you’re going to be all right, you never get hurt”.
“I feel like, when I am hurting, people don’t take me seriously.”
The most dominant player in the NBA explained that for him to leave a game, thing he usually never does, he must be really in pain. “Whatever I have to give, I try to give. Right now I know I have to put myself in a position to be healthy,” he says, because he received a few warnings from God he didn’t listen to because of his strong, stubborn will to play.
Bucks’ coach’s approach
Milwaukee Bucks’ coach Mike Budenholzer explains what the focus of his team is at this point of the season for the final push to prepare for the palyoffs.
