After just one year of peace and quiet, many NBA rumor mills are spitting out more theories on the reigning Finals MVP. Right when Bucks fans thought they finally wouldn’t have to worry about this stuff for years, one quote changes all of that. What did Giannis’ quote really mean? Let me give my take.
The Quote
In his interview with GQ, Giannis covered topics from his knee injury to the birth of his second son and everything in between. There were many interesting things to be learned about Giannis and his life in the article but I’m not here to paraphrase everything they wrote. The few sentences that garnered attention from the NBA world were as follows.
“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.”
The Context
Throughout this portion of the interview, Giannis was explaining why he chose to stay in Milwaukee last year. He stated that he’s always seeking the biggest challenge. He likes the grind and likes having the odds stacked against him as motivation. Essentially he chooses to do things the hard way because it’s so much more gratifying for him to do it that way than the alternative. Being the genuine person he is, Giannis simply stated if he found it too easy to win in Milwaukee he would maybe consider moving onto another challenge. Whether that’s in a different city, or not in the sport of basketball at all.
What we all need to understand about this is that he wouldn’t consider leaving Milwaukee unless winning championships became too easy for him. Which would actually be pretty incredible because it means that the Bucks would’ve become a dynasty. Giannis is just one of the most competitive people on this planet. He finds joy in the obstacles he must overcome. That is all he’s trying to say.
Final Thoughts
Honestly, no matter what happens over the next few years, Milwaukee needs to be eternally grateful for Giannis. He helped this team go from worst in the league to it’s first championship in 50 years. If he one day wants to pursue another challenge we cannot be upset as a fanbase. Would it be sad? Yes, but that doesn’t mean we should be upset.
People forget that Michael Jordan went through this. He was the best in the game and it wasn’t even close. Winning year after year, his competitive itch drove him to try a new sport. MJ suddenly retired to try making a career out of baseball. Once he realized he wasn’t going to make it as a baseball player, he came back to the NBA to begin a new challenge. Could Giannis do something similar one day? Maybe, but it would be a result of continued success in Milwaukee. Don’t panic Milwaukee, everything’s going to be okay.
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