Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks sits on the bench after losing Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the Miami Heat in overtime at Fisher Forum on April 26, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stacey Revere/Getty Images/AFP
Giannis Antetokounmpo insisted Milwaukee’s season was not a failure after the Bucks were knocked out of the playoffs at the first hurdle on Wednesday.
The top-seeded Bucks were spectacularly eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoffs, losing 128–126 to Miami in overtime in front of their home crowd at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.
For the second straight game, Milwaukee collapsed in the fourth quarter, squandering a large double-digit lead as a Jimmy Butler-inspired Miami won.
The normally unstoppable Antetokounmpo embodied Milwaukee’s implosion, making only 10 of 23 free throws to let Miami off the hook.
“I was not able to hit the shot. It’s too much,” a frustrated Antetokounmpo said afterward.
“If I had made those shots it would have been a different matter… some days you make it, some days you miss. Today was one of those days.”
“There is no failure in sports.”
Giannis defines what “failure” looks like to him: pic.twitter.com/NDaoEIP3Zd
— Milwaukee Bucks (@bucks) April 27, 2023
But the Greek superstar – one of the frontrunners for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award – shrugged off when asked if Milwaukee’s season had been a failure.
“There are no failures in sports. There are good days, bad days,” Antetokounmpo said.
“Some days you may be successful, some days not. Some days it is your turn, and some days it is not your turn. You don’t always win. And this year some other team is going to win.
“Every year you work towards a goal. There are steps to success. Michael Jordan played 15 years and won six championships. Were the other nine years a failure?”
Antetokounmpo acknowledged that the sting of the loss would haunt him through the off-season, revealing that he would “think about it throughout the summer.”
“Everyone handles it differently,” he said. “But for me I’ll remember it, and that I don’t want to be in this situation again. But this is basketball so I’ll probably be in this situation again.
Coach Budd speaking to the media after tonight’s game.
Coach Budd ASL press conference: pic.twitter.com/V79jPzbXGT
— Milwaukee Bucks (@bucks) April 27, 2023
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer also declined to label Milwaukee’s season a failure.
“This team has incredibly high expectations,” Budenholzer said. (General Manager) Jon Horst has put together an amazing roster — the ownership has done what they should have done.
“We pushed. We’re the number one seed. But what matters is the playoffs. I think we’re just disappointed. I wouldn’t use that word (failure).
“We’re disappointed, we’re disappointed, it hurts. But I’ve said it all year – we love this team, we love these guys, we believe in them. We didn’t lose it tonight.” Did.
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