Giannis Antetokounmpo opened up about the moment he was seriously considering quitting basketball

Giannis Antetokounmpo made a profound and absolutely honest confession. The Milwaukee Bucks superstar, a kid who always has a huge smile painted on his face, admitted in an interview he gave to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that in 2020 – after the pandemic hit – the “bubble” of Orlando, and shortly thereafter he had signed a new Super Max contract – was about to give up his greatest passion, basketball. And the reason was the enormous psychological pressure, pressure that took away the joy of the game.

The Greek freak didn’t hesitate to seek psychological support from an expert and managed to get his life back on track, so now he wants to help through the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation (CAFF).

“Yes it’s good to hear (say you’re the best player in the world) but there’s a lot of pressure. To be the best, you have to play like the best. You have to train like you’re the best. You have to carry yourself like you’re the best. Which isn’t easy. As much as people say I’m good with it because that’s my character, it’s hard , it is not easy.”

In 2020 I was ready to give up. I had discussed it with management (the Bucks). I am very stubborn as a person. If something doesn’t make me happy, I don’t do it. I do not want it. I stay at home. I will stay with my children, with my family and try to be happy. I don’t care. And I had just signed the biggest contract in NBA history. And understandably, everyone looked at me like I was crazy. “You just signed the biggest contract in NBA history and you want to give up basketball and all that shit?”

Man, you can take all that money and put it in your pocket… Pardon the expression. But I do not care. happiness is important to me. I’m a happy person. My father had nothing, he had us. He was the richest man in the world because he had children. He had a beautiful family, he had nothing. That means nothing to me.

You see how I dress, I don’t care, I just want to be happy. What if I’m not feeling well mentally? How will I leave my family? I can’t leave my family. Then I realized that maybe I need to talk to someone. In 2017 and 2018, DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love came out publicly and said what they were going through. I thought, ‘I don’t understand what this is, I just don’t understand’. I was young, ‘it’s just basketball, just play’ But then you will understand. You become MVP, you try to win a championship, you try to help your teammates be great, and then you figure it all out.

I tried, I started talking to someone. Someone helped put me in my place, re-appreciate what I have, what fits with who I am. To be at peace with myself. To understand that I cannot control the outcome of a game. I can only control my own effort, how hard I work, how I feel about the world around me by trying to inspire people with what I do.

Then I started watching documentaries with Michael Phelps and Naomi Osaka and I saw a lot of people struggle with that. I spoke further with this specialist. It has helped me a lot not only to be a better basketball player and handle it, but also to be a better partner, a better father, a better brother, a better son. Not being closed to myself and being able to share what I feel. Because at some point I tried to escape from everyone. I’m not like that either, I’m very social, I like to interact with other people.

Then I had a meeting with Kevin Love in St Tropez and we talked about it. We sat down as a family and talked about it. My mother said she wanted to help widows. Alex and Kostas said they want to help the children, the new generation. And mental health, that problem is big, Thanasis said. I have the feeling that many people are being tortured but are not willing to talk about it. They don’t intend to improve because the stigma is there. When you talk about it, you’re soft, you’re weak, this is sport, you have to be tough, you have to give it your all.

The moment I started talking about it, I also improved as a basketball player because I was happy with the outcome. I’m fine with myself. I can give my all on the floor and go back to my family. And I spoke to Kevin Love and he told him that he inspired me to open up and helped me improve and he cried when I told him that. He never thought that he would be the one to help me get through all of this.

And then I tried to help as many people as possible. Apparently a lot of people have this problem too. I think I have a great group of people around me who help me and of course my family. I want to make sure we’re literally impacting people’s lives. I don’t want to have this platform and just use it to raise money and not really impact people’s lives. I’m not that type and I have to make sure people understand that.” said Giannis Antetokounmpo without taboo.