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“There Is No Failure in Sports,” According to Giannis Antetokounmpo
In 2021, Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the best basketball players in the world, led his Milwaukee Bucks to the National Basketball Association Championship, their first championship in 50 years. During 2022 and 2023, however, the Bucks have been unable to repeat. And after each of those seasons, after failing to win a second championship, one reporter asked Antetokounmpo the same question: “Do you view this season as a failure?”
When Antetokounmpo heard the question after the 2022 season, he later admitted that he didn’t have a good answer. When the reporter repeated the question this year after the Bucks were again eliminated from the playoffs, Antetokounmpo was again frustrated and upset, but this time, he was ready to respond to his interrogator.
“There is no failure in sports,” he said. Rather, he described the process as “steps to success.” He added, “There’s good days, bad days . . . you don’t always win.”
To back up his position, Antetokounmpo addressed the reporter directly and compared basketball to writing. “Do you get a promotion every year? No, right? So every year is a failure? . . . No. Every year you work towards a goal, towards something: to get a promotion, to take care of your family.” Then, he came back to basketball and pointed out that even the great Michael…
