The Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated from postseason contention after a crushing overtime loss in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat. After the game, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked a question by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm that he didn’t love.
Nehm, a beat reporter for the team, asked him whether or not he considered this season to be a failure due to the early postseason exit. Giannis instantly didn’t like the question, immediately exhaling deeply and putting his hands over his head.
“Oh my god,” said Giannis. “You asked me the same question last year Eric (Nehm). Do you get a promotion every year? No, right? So is every year a failure yes or no? Every year you work, you work towards something, towards a goal. Which is to get a promotion, to take care of your family, I don’t know. You work towards a goal. It is not a failure, it’s a step stool to success.”
"Do you view this season as a failure?"
Giannis Antetokounmpo offers quite the heartfelt answer after Milwaukee's first-round exit. pic.twitter.com/tlRa97q7om
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 27, 2023
Giannis then almost made things personal with Nehm but quickly caught himself.
“If you have never… I don’t want to make things personal. So there is always a step stool. Michael Jordan played for 15 years, won six championships. The other nine years were a failure? That is what you are telling me? I am asking you a question yes or no?”
Nehm proceeded to say no, which prompted Giannis to continue.
“Okay exactly, so why are you asking me that question? It’s the wrong question, there are no failures in sports. There are good days and bad days. Some days you are able to be successful, some days you are not. Some days it’s your turn, and some days it’s not your turn. You don’t always win some other people are going to win. And this year somebody else is going to win.
Antetokounmpo then apologized at the end of the rant, saying again that he didn’t want to make things personal with him.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to make it personal. But you asked me the same question last year and I wasn’t in the right mind space to answer the question.”
It’s obviously a difficult question to answer for Giannis considering his team’s season just ended while emotions are still running high.
It seems like the two are on good terms at the end of the interview, but Giannis clearly wasn’t a fan of that question in particular.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter] Photo Credit: NBA TV
