Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks were expected to make it to the NBA Finals this season. Instead, they couldn’t get past the first round and were sent packing in just five games.
It was just the sixth time in NBA history that an 8th seed takes down the 1st seed. And while not having Giannis on the floor obviously tipped the scale, they blew a couple of big leads in the series.
Still, Giannis had a somewhat interesting take on failure and sports, stating there is no such thing. That prompted plenty of debates on social media, with Shaquille O’Neal sharing his two cents on the matter as well.
Shaq Responds To Giannis’ Claims About Failure
“I think like everybody else, you know when I didn’t win, I was very hard on myself; you know he (Antetokounmpo) missed a lot of free throws. We talked about that before, we talked about how his team shot, so when he’s a great player, and they expect you to win and you don’t win, in my mind, it is a failure,” Shaq said.
“I played 19 seasons and failed 15 seasons; when I didn’t win it, it was a failure, especially when I made it to the finals versus the (Houston) Rockets and lost, made it to the finals for the fourth time with the (Los Angeles) Lakers and lost, it was definitely a failure,”added Shaq.
“He’s not a failure as a player, but is it a failure as a season? I would say yes, but I also like his explanation. I can understand and respect his explanation, but for me, when we didn’t win it, it was always my fault, and it was definitely a failure,” the Big Diesel concluded.
So, it’s not a knock on Giannis whatsoever. He’s still one of the best players this game has ever seen. But all things considered, with him having the best record in the league and losing in five games to the 8th seed… That’s a failure.
