During an interview with NBA reporter Sam Amick of The Athletic, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo said 2023-24 “has been the hardest season that I’ve played.”
The Bucks are in third place in the East with a record of 42-24. They started the season 30-13 under Adrian Griffin before the front office fired Griffin. Interim coach Joe Prunty went 2-1 and current coach Doc Rivers is 10-10.
Milwaukee acquired Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers last summer in a blockbuster trade involving one of Antetokounmpo’s closest friends, Jrue Holiday.
“Yeah, it’s … it’s … it’s hard. I feel like for me, this has been the hardest season that I’ve played — not only physically, because I had the procedure done on my left knee in the end of June,” Antetokounmpo said. “And I had to get back to myself. I feel like when the season started, I wasn’t (myself). And the reason was that I hadn’t played basketball until like the second week of training (camp). I had to get back to being by myself.
“But emotionally, and mentally, it’s been draining. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s been extremely tough, from Coach Bud (Mike Budenholzer) being let go (after the Bucks fell to Miami in the first round of the playoffs) to Coach Griff coming in, being let go, then (interim) Coach Joe for three games, Coach Doc coming in, and then you have Dame. It’s been tough.
“But at the end of the day, I think when you face adversity in life, that’s when you excel the most. So I’m just trying to, as a leader, as a basketball player, as a person, just trying to do what I do, keep on enjoying the game of basketball, keep on hanging in there, keep on trying to improve my game, doing the right thing. And hopefully, step by step, I get where I want to go and I’m able to help the team get where we want to go.”
Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists for the Bucks. The two-time MVP and one-time NBA champion is third in the NBA in points and third in points per game.
“We’re not playing to make the playoffs,” Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously, when we go to the first round, we’ve got to compete there, then go to the second round, go to the third round. We’ve got to do it step by step. That’s how it works. But at the end of the day, we have a goal in our head that we’re trying to accomplish.”
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