Despite the superstardom he already attained, Giannis Antetokounmpo admitted that he faced multiple hardships in 2020, making himself contemplate walking away from the game for good.
In an interview with Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Giannis revealed that the said year tested his mental health from the pressure on and off the court.
“In 2020, I was ready to walk away from the game. I had that conversation – yes – with the front office,” Antetokounmpo said.
2020 is known as one of the darkest times in the entire world. From the rise and peaking of COVID-19, isolation and social distancing were strictly enforced by the authorities, making people deal with stress, anxiety, and depression.
As such, Antetokounmpo also encountered problems that year. As he was still grieving from the death of his father in 2017, the superstar was away from his family in the 2020 NBA Bubble and went on to deal against scrutiny after the Milwaukee Bucks were disappointingly eliminated by the Miami Heat in the second round of the playoffs.
“And, you know, very normally, everybody is looking at me like I was crazy,” he said. ” ‘You just signed the largest contract in NBA history and you want to walk away from the game and all that money…?’
“Mannnnn, you can take that money and shove it into your…
“But. I don’t care about that. I care about joy. I’m a joyful person. My father didn’t have nothing; he had us. He was the richest person on earth because he had his kids. He had the beautiful family; he had nothing. This – to me – doesn’t mean nothing.”
Giannis revealed that he managed to fight his way back to clearness and sanity upon consulting with a mental health specialist, who helped him to have a better personality in different segments of his life.
“I kept talking with this (counselor),” Antetokounmpo said. “He helped me a lot – not just being a better basketball player, being able to deal with it; but being a better partner, better father, better brother, better son. Better person. Being not locked into myself, being able to give people what I feel. Because at one point, I was trying to get away from everybody. And that’s not me; I’m very social. I like to interact with other people.”
Though Giannis went through unfortunate events in 2020, he proceeded to finally lead the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA title a year after – ultimately cementing his place as an all-time great.
