Giannis Antetokounmpo admits he almost RETIRED due to the ‘pressure’ of his $228m, five-year contract extension, revealing he thought ‘you can take that money and shove it’
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo recently admitted that he considered retiring in 2020.
Antetokounmpo said the burden of signing a five-year, $228million contract extension was what led to him considering his future.
‘That’s a lot of pressure,’ Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. ‘Going through that … in order for you to be the best, you have to play like the best.
‘You have to practice like the best. You got to carry yourself like the best. Which is not easy. In 2020, I was … ready to walk away from the game.’
At the time the deal was the largest contract in NBA history and the season before inking the deal he became the third player ever in the league to win both MVP and Defensive Player honors in the same season.
‘Everybody is looking at me like I was crazy,’ Antetokounmpo 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 … Sorry for my language.’
Antetokounmpo chose not to retire and went on to spearhead the Bucks to their first NBA Finals trophy in 50 years.
He also won Finals MVP that year and proved himself worth every penny of the contract that had been weighing on him.
This season, Antetokounmpo became the first player in NBA history to average more than 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists per game while also shooting more than 55 percent shooting from the field.
He averaged 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and shot 55.3 percent from the field, while helping the Bucks secure the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Milwaukee will face whichever team earns the No. 8 seed in the conference via the play-in tournament between the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and Toronto Raptors.
