Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has had a roller-coaster relationship with the media. While he is generally considered a player who is pleasant during interviews, the former Defensive Player of the Year has also been known to snap at reporters on occasion. The biggest manifestation of the same came at the end of last season when Giannis went on an all-out rant after being asked if he considered the Bucks’ previous season to be a failure.
Apparently, the media also played a key role in Antetokounmpo’s decision to sign a massive contract extension with Milwaukee.
Giannis Anteotkounmpo Gets Real on Milwaukee Bucls Contract Extension
While Giannis might not directly admit it, it is also clear in his recent statements that the external pressure coming from the media is also something that weighs heavily on his mind. Regardless of how mentally strong a person might be, there’s simply no escaping the ruthless nature of sports media, especially with the uncontrollable rise of social media.
According to Antetokounmpo, one of the reasons why he agreed to a three-year, $186 million extension with the Bucks was to shut the media up. Well, he didn’t exactly put it that way.
“For me, it takes kind of like the focus away from that,” Giannis said, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “I don’t have to think about that. I don’t need the media talks to me about my contract and if I’m going to stay, if I’m going to leave. Because I know in my heart that I wanted to stay.
“I don’t want people, when we lose a game to come back and say, ‘Oh, Giannis is being irritated. He doesn’t like what’s going on. He’s going to leave, blah, blah, blah.’ No. The conversation right now is going to be straight basketball.”
To be fair, it’s not as if the media is going to suddenly stop talking about Giannis now that he’s committed his future to Milwaukee. That’s never going to change. Such is the price you have to pay for being one of the biggest superstars on the entire planet.
However, as Giannis said, at least the press won’t be able to criticize him for his lack of commitment. He’s made it abundantly clear that he wants to remain in Milwaukee, and he’s now put his money where his mouth is.
Either way, though, this does not mean that there’s going to be less pressure on Giannis and the Bucks to perform this coming season. That you can be sure of.
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