Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to put the pressure on the Milwaukee Bucks and make his intentions clear: He is prioritizing winning NBA championships over “loyalty” to the franchise. He spoke about this on the 48 Minutes podcast. Check out the clip, via The Athletic on X (formerly Twitter):

This is a reasonable stance for Giannis, who is hungry to build on his legacy, and not only be considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time, but the greatest player of all time.

This is a far cry from the same player, who boasted about not jumping around and winning it “the hard way”. There was a time when Giannis said the following:

“It’s easy to go and win a Championship with someone else. I could go, it’s easy. I could go to a super-team, play my part and win it but this is the hard way to do it and we did it. We f*cking did it.”

Giannis postgame conference after winning 2021 NBA championship ( via Bola VIP)

What’s followed since then has proven, it’s not always about staying put. Many factors play a role in winning and continued success. Many times, the failure of a team is outside of the control of the star player’s hands, until they snatch control.

You have to make demands. And you have to be willing to walk away. If Milwaukee begins to be complacent, do you stick around and hang on your one championship, or do you take control of your NBA career and put yourself in position to win more?

Imagine if LeBron James had not decided to take his talents to South Beach: the conversation might have been about how much he underachieved, even had he won one or two NBA titles. Instead, he is involved in serious GOAT debates with Michael Jordan. The same Michael Jordan we thought would have the GOAT conversation on complete lock, at least in our lifetime.

Giannis is a winner. He knows it’s uncomfortable. He knows it takes a certain level of selfishness. That second, third, plus more titles will take more than talent. You gotta add some mean and nasty to it.