Giannis Antetokounmpo revealed winning the NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks was better than getting intimate with his partner.
Back in the 2013 NBA Draft, the Bucks took a chance on Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick as the franchise went on to perfectly develop the 'Greek Freak'. He has since established himself as one of the best and most consistent players in the world him.
Antetokounmpo is a seven-time All-Star, an NBA champion, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and two-time league MVP. He entered the NBA as a relatively unknown prospect, but the 28-year-old is now arguably the most dominant two-way player in the league and is well on the way to going down as one of the game’s all-time greats.
He was linked with a move away from the Bucks as pressure mounted on him to deliver a championship amid a flurry of individual accolades, but Antetokounmpo stayed loyal and reached the top of the mountain in 2021. After leading Milwaukee to the 2021 NBA Finals, an injured Antetokounmpo posted series averages of 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.8 blocks to lead the Bucks past the Phoenix Suns in six games.
In fact, Antetokounmpo enjoyed one of the greatest championship-clinching performances in Game 6 - he recorded 50 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks as the Bucks clinched their first championship in 50 years and second in franchise history. It was his crowning moment - and the charismatic Athens-born star revealed just how much it meant to him.
“Man, that feeling. That feeling was a great feeling,” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic. “That feeling was one of the best feelings I’ve had, and I’m not even going to say what I’m thinking because it’s probably gonna go viral.
“I’m sorry, but it’s better than getting intimate. You know what I mean? Man, what?! You know, I love my wife-to-be-soon. I love my kids.
“(The championship) was the greatest feeling in my life, and I definitely want to repeat that feeling. And I want to do it again with my teammates, and I want us to be the last team standing. I want for those two, three months of the summer to feel like I’m the best player in the world, where our team has won the whole thing and I was the last guy standing.
"I love that feeling, that feeling of working for eight months in the season, and working your whole life, through all these ups and downs, being up three, turning the ball over, having the game and then giving it away - all those things.
“Little things add up to that little moment. And it’s either they’re gonna have that moment, or we’re going to have that moment. And I’m selfishly sorry that I want to be that guy to have that moment, you know? But again, I can’t predict the future.”
He added: “I don’t know what’s going (to happen), what God has in stock for me. I know that I’m here to get better. I’m here to have a long way in this league. I don’t believe I am where I want to be. I feel like I can improve tremendously in the next couple of years. I hope I can. And I can keep on helping my team year after year to be in one of those four or five teams that have the chance to win a championship.”
Antetokounmpo is enjoying a tremendous season, leading the Bucks to first place in the Eastern Conference while he is in the MVP conversation alongside Denver Nuggets star - and fellow two-time MVP - Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. Antetokounmpo is averaging 31.5 points per game while shooting 54.1 per cent from the floor to go with 11.9 rebounds.
His 50-19 Bucks enjoy the best record in the NBA, and they are next in action against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. The 31-38 Pacers sit 12th in the east.
