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The Nigerian immigrants who gave birth to one of the greatest basketball players we’ve ever seen struggled so badly to find work and stability in their adopted country of Greece that it was often up to Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brother to hawk cheap goods on the streets of Athens.
Sometimes, the tourists on their way to see the Acropolis would buy a pair of sunglasses or a purse, giving Antetokounmpo enough money to buy food for his family that day. Other days, they wouldn’t.
This is a story that by now has been told thousands of times, an almost miraculous rise from crippling poverty to two-time MVP and NBA champion. And it clearly informs the worldview that came through so clearly on the podium Wednesday night when Antetokounmpo denied that the Milwaukee Bucks’ season was a failure by losing its first-round playoff series in five games.
When you’ve been through what Antetokounmpo has been through, when you’ve seen what he’s seen, there’s little doubt that he’s already won the most important game he’s ever played.
“It’s not a failure. There’s steps to success,” Antetokounmpo responded when asked by a longtime Milwaukee Bucks beat writer if this season had been a failure.
He continued.
“There’s always steps to it. Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships. The other nine years was a failure? That’s what you’re telling me? There’s no failure in sports. There’s good days, bad days, some days you’re able to be successful, some days you’re not. Some days it’s your turn, some days it’s not your turn. That’s what sports is about.
“You don’t always win. Some other people’s going to win. And this year somebody else is going to win. Simple as that. We’re going to come back next year, try to be better, try to build good habits, try to play better and not have a 10-day stretch playing bad basketball and hopefully we can win a championship.
“From 1971 to 2021, we didn’t win a championship. It was 50 years of failure? No, it was not. There was steps to it and we were able to win one, hopefully we can win another one.”
Story continues
Giannis Antetokounmpo sits…
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Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2023-04-27 18:30:41
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