Giannis Antetokounmpo discusses his near-retirement from basketball in 2020
In 2020, at arguably the height of his basketball powers, two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was seriously considering leaving the game for good.
Basketball
In December 2020, just seven months before Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks were crowned NBA champions, the two-time league MVP was on the verge of stepping away from the game of basketball.
"It's hard," Antetokounmpo told Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It's … not easy.
"In 2020, I was … ready to walk away from the game."
He added: "I had that conversation – yes – with the front office."
It's almost impossible to think of Antetokounmpo, one of the most recognizable names in world basketball, retiring from the game he so clearly loves - and is so outrageously good at. Even prior to the Bucks' march to the NBA title in 2021 (where he was also named Finals MVP, incidentally), Antetokounmpo was coming off a stellar season where he averaged 29.5 points, 5.6 assists and 13.6 rebounds per game en route to earning his second consecutive MVP award and first Defensive Player of the Year award.
Not exactly the kind of season that would lead one to think that Antetokounmpo was ready to give up his playing career for good. But, as is so often the case, the stats and awards don't always tell the whole story.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: "In 2020, I was ready to walk away from the game"
"If something doesn't make me happy, I don't do it," Antetokounmpo said. "I don't want to do it. I'm just going to stay home, stay with my kids, stay with my family and try to be happy. I don't care.
"And this was right when I signed the largest contract in NBA history.
"In 2020, I was ready to walk away from the game. I had that conversation – yes – with the front office.
"And, you know, very normally, everybody is looking at me like I was crazy. 'You just signed the largest contract in NBA history and you want to walk away from the game and all that money…?'
"Mannnnn, you can take that money and shove it into your...
“But. I don't care about that. I care about joy. I’m a joyful person. My father didn’t have nothing; he had us. He was the richest person on earth because he had his kids. He had the beautiful family; he had _nothing. This – to me – doesn’t mean nothing.”
The "money" that Antetokounmpo is referring to is the five-year, $228 million supermax contract he signed in December 2020. And while that satiated the desires of Bucks fans worldwide, and silenced the frenzied speculation surrounding the Greek's future in Milwaukee, it did not quell the internal pressure that Antetokounmpo had been feeling from years of stress, expectations, and loss: the sudden death of his father in 2017, the desire to compete for the Greek national team, his obligations to the Bucks and his fans, dealing with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic - all immense factors that made Antetokounmpo question his desire to play.
“Everybody – no matter where I am – everybody is watching me,” he said, allowing his Greek accent to come through a little more than usual. He’s comfortable, taking a seat in a chair and just talking, away from press conference tables and cameras, his family nearby. “I don’t think I have the time to turn it off. Be myself. Kind of just … be me.
“I was in Orlando. I was walking through the hotel and there was three little kids. We were in this hotel that was five minutes away from Disney World. This lady was probably with her grandkids. She was like 55, 60 – she was my mom’s age. And the kids were younger, like 5, 6, 7. And she said, 'Hey guys, you know who that is?' No, they had no idea; they was excited to go to Disney World. She turned and was like: ’That’s the best player in the world.’
“Yeah, it’s good to hear that, but that’s a lot of pressure. Going through that … in order for you to be the best, you have to play like the best. You have to practice like the best. You got to carry yourself like the best. Which is not easy.
“As much as people say I’m handling it well, because that’s my personality…It's hard. It's not easy."
Giannis Antetokounmpo: “The moment I started talking about it, I improved as a basketball player"
Antetokounmpo decided to seek help, and began working with a counselor, as he explained to Nickel.
"I kept talking with this (counselor). He helped me a lot – not just being a better basketball player, being able to deal with it; but being a better partner, better father, better brother, better son. Better person. Being not locked into myself, being able to give people what I feel. Because at one point, I was trying to get away from everybody. And that's not me; I'm very social. I like to interact with other people."
The sessions helped, and in July of 2021, the 213cm (7 ft), 109kg (242lbs) forward helped power the Bucks to the NBA Finals, where they would go on to win a first NBA title since 1971 thanks to a 4-2 series win over the Phoenix Suns.
At the time of writing Antetokounmpo is preparing to lead the Bucks in the playoffs once again after a spectacular season that saw the 28-year-old post a career high in points per game (31.1) en route to guiding Milwaukee to the best record in the NBA at 58-24. He's also being touted as one of the favourites to win the MVP award. And, amidst all the pressure and expectations, Antetokounmpo is still finding a way to help other people who are struggling with mental health issues through his family foundation named after his father: the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation.
“I feel like a lot of people deal with it, but they’re not willing to talk about it,” Giannis said. “They’re not willing to improve, because this stigma is behind it. 'You talk about it, then you’re soft, you’re weak; this is a sport, you’ve got to be tough. You’ve got to fight through everything.’
“The moment I started talking about it, I improved as a basketball player. Because I am OK with the outcome.
“I am OK with myself.
“I can leave everything on the court and go back to my family.
“And then I tried to help as many people as I can.”