Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo: ‘I don’t want to be somewhere with no pressure’

Giannis Antetokounmpo is making it clear he’s not just along for the ride in Milwaukee. He wants the pressure. He wants the ball. And he still believes the Bucks can win it all.

In his first extended comments of the offseason, Antetokounmpo sat down with Sport24’s Harris Stavrou in Greece, via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, and addressed everything from trade rumors to turning 30 to how he wants to play.

“I like the challenge,” he said. “I have realized that I like to live with the pressure. Is that good? Is it bad? I don’t know.

“If I’m in an environment where there’s no pressure and I don’t think we can achieve something great, I don’t want to be there. It doesn’t make me happy as a person anymore.”

He tied that mindset to personal growth — marriage, fatherhood, four kids at home — and insisted winning remains the only thing that makes him tick.

“What makes me happy is when I win and feel that there is a challenge,” Antetokounmpo added. “I mean, I wake up in the morning and say, ‘We have to win today. If we don’t win today, what will we hear?’ That is the thing.”

Giannis also sent a message to Doc Rivers and the Bucks’ front office: he wants to be a creator, not just a finisher.

“To get the best out of the team and to get the best out of me, I have to be a creator,” he said. “I have to feel like I can create … not just be a play finisher. Not just go score 30.”

He pointed to the final two months of last season, when he had more freedom, as proof. “When I had the green light to create, I had a good time. I think the team did very well during that time.”

Rivers and GM Jon Horst have already said they plan to give Giannis more ball-handling responsibility. That lines up perfectly with what their star wants.

As for the roster, Antetokounmpo acknowledged the Bucks are young but sounded encouraged.

“We certainly don’t have a lot of experience, but we’re young; we have legs, fresh legs,” he said. “We got a really good big man (Myles Turner). We got a good point guard, Cole Anthony, who I think will be an X-Factor and be the surprise of the year.”

And he made sure to put a bow on it for fans back home.

Asked about Milwaukee’s championship chances, Giannis didn’t hesitate: “Yeah, we have a chance. For sure.”

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