- The Bucks were upset by the Heat in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked if the season was a "failure" and gave a great answer about winning.
The Milwaukee Bucks suffered a shocking first-round playoffs exit at the hands of the Miami Heat on Wednesday, but Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn't view the season as a failure.
The Bucks had title aspirations after finishing with the No. 1 seed in the East and a league-best 58-24 record.
But the Bucks suffered a surprise Game 1 loss to the Heat and lost Antetokounmpo to a lower back injury for two games. With Jimmy Butler putting on a masterful performance, averaging 38 points per game across five games, the Bucks were against the ropes and never recovered.
During his postgame press conference, Antetokounmpo was asked by The Athletic's Eric Nehm if the season was a "failure" because of the surprising exit. Antetokounmpo appeared bothered by Nehm asking the question, noting that Nehm had done the same thing last season when the Bucks were knocked out in the second round by the Boston Celtics.
"Do you get a promotion every year?" Antetokounmpo asked Nehm. "In your job. No, right? So every year that you work is a failure? Yes or no? No.
"Every year you work, you work towards something, towards a goal. Which is to get a promotion, to be able to feed your family, to be able to, I don't know, provide the house for them or take care of your parents. You work towards that goal. It's not a failure. It's steps to success. ... There's always steps to it.
"Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships. The other nine years was a failure? That's what you're telling me?"
After asking Nehm if he thought Jordan was a failure for not winning every year, Antetokounmpo continued.
"There's no failure in sports. There's good days, bad days. Some days you are able to be successful, some days you're not. Some days it's your turn, some days it's not your turn. That's what sports is about. You don't always win. Some other people are gonna win. And this year, somebody else is gonna win. Simple as that. We're gonna come back next year, try to be better, try to build good habits, try to play better, not have a 10-day stretch of playing bad basketball, and hopefully, we can win a championship."
Of course, Antetokounmpo has a different perspective than most people in sports. Antetokounmpo was the son of migrant parents in Athens, Greece, growing up poor and having to move homes frequently. He and his brothers hawked goods on the streets to help support their family.
Antetokounmpo didn't even begin playing basketball until he was a teenager. That he was able to build himself from a lanky curiosity who was selected with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft to arguably the best player in basketball — one with a $228 million contract — is one of the most incredible journeys in sports.
Watch video of Antetokounmpo's answer below:
—CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 27, 2023