Giannis Antetokounmpo had one of his best runs in the NBA this season. Over the last few years, his biggest motive was to elevate the Milwaukee Bucks onto a level of their own. In 2021, the former 2x MVP was successful in bringing home their first title in 50 years. The Greek Freak is arguably one of the greatest players of this generation and will hang up his jersey as one of the bests ever in the game.
This year, the Miami Heat ended the Bucks’ playoff run during Game 5 of the first round. Eric Nehm, a reporter from The Athletic asked Giannis if this season was a failure for him. Frustrated, he replied saying, “Oh my god. You asked me the same question last year, Eric. Do you get the promotion every year on your job? No, right?… so every year you work is a failure? Yes or no? No. Every year you work, you work towards something, towards a goal, right?… It’s not a failure. It’s steps to success,” he said.
Giannis didn’t like this reporter’s question on if he thinks this season was a failure. pic.twitter.com/M3hJ9Bo4GJ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 27, 2023
He used Michael Jordan’s decorated career as an example saying, “Michael Jordan played 15 years. Won six championships. The other nine years was a failure?… It’s a wrong question. There’s no failure in sports.” The Bucks had the best record in the league with 58 wins and 24 losses. It seemed as if the former champions were on the verge of making another title run. Emotions ran high in the locker room but they still have time to recover.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks get eliminated by Jimmy Butler’s playoff dominance
It was a rough start for the Bucks during the first round. In Game 1, Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with a back contusion and was ruled out of the next two games. The Heat failed to secure a victory during Game 2 as they were also down a player. Tyler Herro fractured his fingers shortly after Giannis fell in Game 1. Herro will only be able to play in the finals if the Heat makes it.
The Heat capitalized on the Greek Freak’s absence in Game 3, taking the lead 2-1 in the series. It was evident that Milwaukee desperately needed Antetokounmpo’s offense. They shot 38-85 attempts from the field and took only 12 free throw attempts throughout the game. Giannis would return in Game 4 but Jimmy Butler had 56 points for the night to close out the game.
Miami and Milwaukee kept the score close during Game 5 of the series. During the fourth quarter, with the score at 116-118 in favor of the Bucks, Butler threw in the inbound pass to tie the game sending it into OT. The Heat managed to take a huge 4-point lead with 40.1 seconds left on the clock in OT. Milwaukee answered with two more points, but the Heat’s defense shut them down for good. Butler had 41 points while Giannis scored 38 points with 20 rebounds.
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