MILWAUKEE — Brewers Manager Craig Counsell joined Wisconsin’s Morning News on Friday and discussed Giannis Antetokounmpo’s impassioned response when asked whether or not this season was a “failure.”
Going into the playoffs this year, the Milwaukee Bucks were the No. 1 seed in the NBA. However, the Bucks were handed a surprising first round exit by the Miami Heat in just five games.
After the Bucks’ elimination on Wednesday, Giannis was asked if he viewed this season as a failure. Counsell felt like Giannis gave the perfect answer.
“I think Giannis summed it up so well. It’s the perspective that you need to have and the perspective you earn by how you do your job every day,” Counsell said.
The former Brewers player turned manager emphasized that Giannis’s perspective is something that is earned through the dedication he brings to the game.
“That’s what sports are. Look, we are all chasing the same thing every year and its really hard to get,” Counsell said. “We get spoiled with expectations, but the deal is only one team gets to celebrate.”
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Still, Counsell doesn’t believe this reality will make the Bucks’ fate any easier to accept for the general public. He expressed that people will still view their season as a failure, even if Giannis and his teammates disagree.
“We kick ourselves, we blame ourselves and we just fall short of it. That’s just the reality of all this,” Counsell said. “We all want to win. The fans want us to win and we also don’t want the journey to end. We are missing Bucks basketball for the month of May, some of June, and that’s something we’ve become accustomed to in Milwaukee in the past five years, and that’s no fun either.”
You can listen to Giannis’s answer below and the interview with Craig Counsell in the player above.
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