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MILWAUKEE — Before winning his first NBA championship, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo used to imagine how it would change his life: how it would be a weight lifted off his shoulders and how he’d finally be able to exhale.
“But it’s false,” Antetokounmpo said after the Bucks received their 2021 championship rings. “If you’re a competitor, your mind creates something different, a different challenge. You might say, ‘OK I did it one time, I need to do it a second time.’ And when you do it a second time, you want to do it a third time.”
For players like Antetokounmpo, there’s always a new goal to achieve, always a new slight — real or perceived — to acknowledge.
“We’re still the Milwaukee Bucks. At the end of the day, there’s a lot of people out there that still don’t believe we can do it again,” he said.
Antetokounmpo, 26, has already found his place among the basketball legends; last week he was named to the NBA’s list of the 75 greatest players of all time at the start of his ninth year in the NBA. He is already a two-time MVP. He has won a Defensive Player of the Year award. He has made five consecutive All-Star teams.
A week into the NBA season, the Bucks (3-1) don’t appear to be suffering from a championship hangover. Not on a team with Antetokounmpo as its best player. The Bucks, who have moved up to No. 1 in ESPN’s latest Power Rankings, had a dominant season-opening victory over the Brooklyn Nets, followed by wins against the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers despite a rotation left undermanned by injuries.
Nets star Kevin Durant saw the difference in the Bucks from the playoffs a few months ago to opening night last week.
“[They] have a core of guys that have been together for four or five years,” Durant said. “And then the whole coaching staff just getting more comfortable with each other and then having some success winning a championship, that naturally brings confidence.
“That will be good for them all year. I know they are going to…
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Source : espn
