By Giannis Antetokunmpo/ Follow @G_ante34
After his interview during his short stay in Athens, Giannis Antetokounmpo writes on his official blog for Eurohoops. He has returned to the USA, where he’s working on an individual level. He will return to Greece for the preparation of Greece’s national team that starts on the 1st of August.
Until then he will communicate with the people through his blog. You will enjoy a summer round of Giannis’s posts that will be completed with his incorporation into the Greek NT. From that point on, a new round will commence colored white and blue!
File: Work Ethic
I have clearly defined in my mind those elements that can push a player to make history and to reach, or even surpass his athletic “ceiling,” according to the talent he possesses.
Number 1 is work ethic. Number 2 is mentality. The mindset you have on and off the court. Number 3, last in the hierarchy, is talent. That’s how it goes. I was born with the characteristic of being a perfectionist with anything I try my hand at. As long as I like it. In school I was not a great student. I could have been if I had sat down and studied systematically. But I didn’t have a lot of motivation. I liked basketball.
It makes me happy to play basketball and train in order to get better. Another important aspect is the commitment to the goal. The will to win has to overcome the pain. Mental pain or physical.
I remember a game in Brooklyn against the Nets. I twisted my ankle and I was in a lot of pain. I was pleading with Jason Kidd not to take me out. I dedicated myself to winning. The thought of the pain left and I managed to finish that game. The important thing is that we won.
In the next game against the Toronto Raptors, it had been decided that I wasn’t going to play. I was out and I was riding an exercise bike in the locker room. I was listening to the commentary on the monitor. They were saying that it was going to be an easy win for the Raptors. I couldn’t listen to that. It bothered me.
Five minutes before jump ball, when the national anthem was playing, I got out to the bench and I told them that there is no way I wasn’t going to play. At the beginning coach didn’t allow it. He told me there’s no chance because my leg would get worse. I tried to convince him that I was feeling better. Finally he let me play. We lost that night, but if I hadn’t played, I would have felt even worse afterwards.
The secret
All the greats, those who have gone down in history as the greatest of All Time, had their mentality as their greatest weapon. Their determination and their devotion in what they were doing and their goal. Many have great talent but don’t have the required character.
Every day I get up anxious. I have a thought in my mind that stresses me. I’m afraid of getting into the process of thinking that I have a lot of skills and a lot of talent so I don’t have to… go crazy and work a lot. That even if I don’t labor particularly, I’ll have a good career in the NBA.
That’s not enough for me. Out of a fear of wasting my talent and not reaching the level I have to, I train harder every day. I always have this worry and it pushes me towards the right direction in a positive way.
That’s what human nature is like, and a lot of the times the athlete’s as well. When you’ve played really well in a game or in a whole period, it’s only human to rest on your laurels. The more one has achieved in their career the more dangerous it is for this to happen to them. Precisely for this reason, I have as absolute models the players that for many years were and are the best.
That have conquered all of their personal and collective goals more than once, but always show up hungrier, more determined, more complete in their game.
The Greatest as a model
I sit and I think. What would Jordan, Kobe, Magic, LeBron do in this case? Jordan got 6 championships and all the respective MVP titles in the finals. And yet, he was never pleased with himself! You could see it in his eyes and the angry way in which he played.
My main goal is to play at a high level in the NBA until I’m 40. To feel joy and satisfaction when I achieve something, to enjoy it. But never to feel content and complete. When a goal is realized, to set the next one right away.
I would like to wish everyone a great summer with health above all, and mental and physical rest in their vacations. I spent I beautiful week in Greece after the end of the season, but now I’m back in Milwaukee and have already began working with my coaches. There’s no time to lose.
Until I get back to be a part of the national team, we’ll be in touch here through my official blog. I read all of the messages and I use them as extra motivation and a source of strength…
Be well, and have a swim for me too! Giannis