The Milwaukee Bucks face on their 12/18 Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup final, with Giannis Antetokounmpo to make statements and address, among other things, his motivations, how much the league has changed since he came and the establishment of the new institution.
What he said in detail:
“I try to be competitive. I try to improve as much as I can. I think any player who approaches every big game or season thinking, “I want to win the MVP, I want to do this,” it’s not going to happen because you’re approaching the game the wrong way and you’re thinking about yourself. I always wanted to be one of the best. You have to sacrifice so much, it’s so much more to get to this point.”
For what they have improved defensively: “We are more competitive. I feel like everyone understands that to win a game you have to be more competitive. We joined, watched a lot of videos, had a lot of conversation. We win, we lose, we have to be competitive. We have played a lot of close games this season. We have a lot of work to do, we are not at our best yet, we have to keep improving. We played well in the last few games, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
On whether the quality of the game gets better or worse with a lot of 3-pointers: “I don’t know, I’m not a three-pointer. Obviously the game is evolving, getting better. I have no idea, I have to think about it. When I came into the league in 2013, teams weren’t shooting that many 3-pointers. Now it’s completely different, I don’t know if that necessarily helps my game. At the end of the day the game evolves. It looks good.”
On the importance of prize money: “It’s money that changes lives. Obviously with 500,000 dollars you pay for 1-2 houses. Some players may not make that much money in their careers. You play for those too. There is also something we say in the locker room, that we play for the young kids, because this money will mean a lot to them. But they mean a lot to everyone, it’s a lot of money.
I try not to think about money, that’s probably not accurate. I think about the money, but I think about the money when we talk about the new guys. Personally, I try not to think about money. I love playing basketball, I don’t play basketball for the money anymore.
I don’t like to lie. When I came into the league, obviously you want to take care of your family, you want to send your siblings to a better school. You want to create a better life for your parents. Buy your mother a house. To an extent, if that’s your motivation, you won’t go far. You have to have something inside of you that wakes you up every day to put your body through that stress.
I understand that this is a life changing opportunity for all the new players in our team and some need this. And not only the new players, the coaches too, the physios etc. I want to win, that’s why I play. It’s an extra motivation, which I know if we win the game a lot of people will benefit from it.”
On whether the NBA Cup helps grow the league internationally: “The league is not only growing because of the NBA Cup, it is growing because there is a lot of talent coming from all over the world. In recent years the top Draft Picks have come from France. Some of the top players in the league in recent years are not American. Sai, Jokic, Luka, Webaniyama. I love this system, the NBA Cup system.
I saw the Euroleague Final Four in Berlin, the semi-final and the final and how much it means to the teams, the atmosphere was amazing, the attention to it, the pressure. I love that the NBA adopted this system. In the regular season we have games that mean more, you come here, you play games that get attention.
Teams can achieve something because not necessarily always the best team in the NBA wins the Cup. It’s who will play the best basketball in these games. The NBA is finding a way to bring more attention to the game and the NBA Cup is one such example.”
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
