Giannis Antetokounmpo shoots down talk of asterisk over this year’s NBA title
While some believe this year’s NBA title should come with an asterisk, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo believes otherwise.
The NBA’s mission to restart the 2019-20 season has come with a hotly debated question regarding this year’s NBA championship.
Of course, the Milwaukee Bucks have long stood as one of the biggest favorites to win this year’s title and that certainly carries over into season restart that will kick off later this month in Orlando.
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But there has been plenty of chatter to whether this year’s eventual NBA champion will come with an asterisk, given such a long layoff between games and the extenuating circumstances that have resulted from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In speaking to reporters Wednesday afternoon, Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo broached that very topic and laid out why winning this year’s NBA title will be the hardest in the history of the NBA, as ESPN’s Eric Woodyard relayed:
"“I feel like a lot of people say that there’s gonna be a star next to this championship,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like, at the end of the day, this is gonna be the toughest championship you could ever win – because the circumstances are really, really tough right now. So, whoever wants it more is going to be able to go out there and take it.”"
Antetokounmpo went in to greater detail, touching on the health concerns for himself, teammates and coaches as they prepare to go to Orlando where infections continue to surge in that region and just stepping back into their routines without their support systems and families on hand initially:
"“Everybody has concerns about their health. Nobody wants to put themselves in risk out there, but at the end of the day, that’s what the NBA chose, and we’re gonna resume the games, and we’ve all gotta do our job,” Antetokounmpo said. “And my job is to play basketball and go out there and support my teammates, and represent the city. But for sure, I think me, my teammates, my family – especially my mom – everybody has concerns about our health, and my health.“Obviously, you go somewhere without your family for four months, three months, and you haven’t played basketball for three-and-a-half, four months. Obviously, whoever team wants it more, has gotta be mentally prepared for all the situations and gotta go out there and execute,” Antetokounmpo said.”"
Obviously, Antetokounmpo hit on all of the external challenges for why winning an NBA title this year will be a tougher task than any NBA team has previously faced.
The challenges that all players from the 22 NBA teams will be facing as they all gear up for Orlando are essentially three-fold. That includes their collective health, getting back into their peak game shape and taking on a high focus level that will be necessary to come away from Orlando literally unscathed from the virus and any other physical concerns that will surely exist when ramping back into action after such a long layoff.
Beneath all of that is the mental toll and significant concerns over players becoming isolated wherever they will stay on the resort as well as abiding by all of the precautions and extensive measures that will be in place for all players and team officials over the next few months.
If that doesn’t require a certain level of determination and high tolerance for adversity, I don’t know what does, frankly. And for what it’s worth, Antetokounmpo’s head coach, Mike Budenholzer, agrees with the MVP that whoever ends up winning an NBA title will be more worthy of being labeled a champion:
"“I feel like the champion from this experience from this season, I think is going to be more worthy and probably more special than any champion,” Budenholzer said.”"
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Antetokounmpo, Budenholzer and the Bucks as a whole are obviously looking to outlast everyone else in Orlando and win an NBA title under the most dire and surreal of circumstances. And to pull it off will require a clear focus and desire to ward off all of the many concerns that have forced the NBA to restart the season in a single location in the first place.