By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo was ‘upset’ by his struggle to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to victory against the Boston Celtics in their NBA season-opener, but stated he can benefit from the experience.
The ‘Greek Freak’ played his first game after penning a new five-year supermax contract worth $228million but missed the second of two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining as Boston got away with the 122-121 win on Wednesday’s season opener.
“I’m upset about it, but you can’t change it. So it’s done”, said Giannis to the press after the defeat. “Hopefully when I’m in the same position, I can make the next one. That’s the mentality you’ve got to have. But obviously, there’s a little bit of weight on your shoulders [in those situations] because, if you miss, that’s it for your team”
“I’m a winner, and I want to do whatever it takes for my team to win. But, you know, you learn from every situation that basketball puts you in. I want to be in those moments. I want to [have the ball] down the stretch. I want to shoot the last two free throws, I want to shoot the last shot, because if you think about it, if you do that a thousand times, some of the times it’s going to go in. Some of the times, you’re going to be the hero. And some of the times, you’re going to miss. But you learn from it”, mentioned Giannis, who finished the game with 35 points and 13 rebounds.
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