Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t leave the Bucks because he was looking for something easier. Quite the opposite.
In a behind-the-scenes YouTube video documenting his first day with the Heat, Antetokounmpo explained that after 13 seasons with the Bucks, he felt it was time to challenge himself in a completely new environment.
“I think I need this. I really do,” Antetokounmpo told Heat assistant coach Caron Butler, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “Because I think in life, sometimes when you’re in a comfort zone. I need to wake up new faces, new people that I don’t know. And I think it’s going to bring the best out of me.”
The two-time NBA MVP also made it clear his focus is on winning another championship.
The video opens with Antetokounmpo discussing that goal before taking viewers inside Kaseya Center, where he meets with coaches and teammates as he begins preparing for the next chapter of his career.
Butler encouraged Antetokounmpo to arrive in Miami well before training camp so he can establish himself as one of the team’s leaders. The veteran forward didn’t hesitate.
“First of all, I’m doing it for me,” Antetokounmpo said. “I want to know what’s going on. I want to know everything, offense, defense. So when the training camp comes, I’m like almost ahead of them. I can talk to them. If I don’t know the offense, I cannot talk to my teammates.”
After spending his entire NBA career with one franchise, Antetokounmpo acknowledged there will be an adjustment period.
From the sound of it, though, that’s exactly what he wanted.
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