71 Giannis Antetokounmpo Quotes On Basketball, Failure, and Greatness

Motivational Giannis Antetokounmpo quotes

Giannis Antetokounmpo, aka "The Greek Freak," is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA.

Giannis was drafted 15th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Bucks. Considered a "raw" talent, Giannis certainly evolved into a player that the Bucks could only dream of drafting. 

Giannis is known for his incredible athleticism and versatility. He has achieved numerous accolades throughout his career, including being named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) in both 2019 and 2020, as well as leading the Bucks to their first championship in 50 years in 2021.

Giannis has also been selected to multiple NBA All-Star teams and has won several other awards including the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player awards. 

Off the court, Giannis is known for his unique personality, humility, work ethic, and dedication to getting better.

He has become an inspiration to many aspiring basketball players around the world, particularly in his home country of Greece.

Enjoy this collection of some of the best Giannis Antetokounmpo quotes that are a testament to who he is and how he came to be the star player he is today.

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Giannis Quotes About Failure 

1. "There's no failure in sports. It's not a failure, it's steps to success. There's good days, bad days. Some days you are able to be successful, some days you are not...and that's what sports is about. You don't always win."

2. "There's always steps to it. Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships; the other nine years was a failure? That's what you're telling me?"

3. "We’re gonna come back next year, try to be better, try to build good habits, try to play better, not have a 10-day stretch with play bad basketball. You know, and hopefully we can win a championship. So 50 years from 1971 to 2021 that we didn't win a championship, it was 50 years of failure?"

4. "Instead of thinking that we lost something, we can gain and learn in order for us to put ourselves in a position to win another championship."

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Giannis On Greatness

5. "I want to become one of the best players, so if you want to be one the best, you have to elevate all aspects of your game."

6. "With back-to-backs, a lot of games, sometimes you think, 'I've got to take a day off today.' But you have to push through it. The greats did."

7. "To me what separates really good players from great players – executing well under pressure."

8. "I want to be among the greats."

9. "Two years ago, I had the goal to be the best player in the league. I will do whatever it takes to help my team win, and I will win MVP."

10. "I got to move on. I got to keep making winning plays. I got to keep competing. I got to keep finding ways to help my team be great."

 11. "I want to get better every day."

12. If you want to be great, it's going to hurt a little bit. It's not going to be easy."

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Giannis Quotes About Work Ethic

13. "Whatever I try to do, I always try to give it my best and try to be a killer because, at the end of the day, if you don't work hard, you are not going to get food on your table."

14. "Persistent in life? I think, yes, I am. I'm going to do something until I get it right."

15. "I've just got to keep working hard, try to get my team better. That's a goal of mine."

16. "I've got to perfect my game. Keep working."

17. "I see myself as a student. Trying to learn everything."

18. "To be one of the best to ever play the game? I think I have the ability to do that. But I've got to work hard. If I just keep talking and don't put some work in, it's not going to happen."

19. "I'm gonna have some nights when it's not gonna come. But if you keep playing natural, it's just gonna come. I'm gonna keep getting better, keep getting better, and one day, everything's gonna pay off."

20. "But I’ve got to work hard. If I just keep talking and don’t put some work in, it’s not going to happen."

21. "I'm extremely stubborn. I do stuff until I get it right."

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Giannis Quotes On Being Humble

22. "I'm a humble kid. I grew up with Filathlitikos. There were some people in Filathlitikos that taught to me how to stay humble. It was coach Tzivas that never allowed me to get carried away. That's who I am."

23. "Even if I'll be an All Star or Rookie of The Year, I will always be humble Giannis."

24. "I'm a guy who doesn't really care about glamour and big markets; I like to be home all day."

25. "Just growing up and going through life and how tough life was for me and my family, I'm always going to stay humble."

  the video is even better (16:52)

26. "I cannot have everything. Cannot be handsome, beautiful kids, beautiful wife, great family, great teammates, great coaching staff, handsome, athletic. I cannot have everything in life. I cannot make three's too. God had to keep me humble. God said basically 'he cannot make three's. Can't shoot. Stay humble my guy.'"

27. "If I can't score, I do whatever I can to support my teammates."

28. "I like to score when I can, but if I can't do that, I like to do the other things - defense, blocking, rebounding."

29. "I'm a low-profile guy."

30. "I kind of try to focus on the moment, in the present. That’s humility. That’s being humble. That’s not setting no expectation. That’s going out there, enjoying the game, competing at a high level."

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Basketball Quotes By Giannis Antetokounmpo

31. "That's the style of basketball I love, playing on the open court."

32. "I try to come in, try to defend, help on defense, play as hard as possible and do whatever my coach and my teammates tell me and try to listen and get better."

33. "The night before games, I try to get some shots up. Early on the game day, I come early in the morning to try to get some shots up. I just try to do the same things: go through the scouting, watch some clips before the game, just try to get my body ready."

34. "I can't take my mind off basketball."

35. "I cannot take 30 jumpers a game. Got to have a balance. You've got to get your teammates involved."

36. "Obviously, Kobe is one of the greatest players to ever play the game."

37. "I just stay home all the time. But the things I have learned outside of basketball is you got to take care of your body."

38. "LeBron James is one of the best players in the league - and one of the best players to ever play the game."

39. "There's a lot of big guys who can play-make. We put labels like, 'Oh, he's a point guard, he's a center.' But sometimes your center can play-make for you and not just be the center, boxing out for rebounds and playing in the post."

40. "It's good to know that your coach cares about you."

41. "What's the reason I'm playing basketball? I do it because I love it, I do it because of my family, and that's it. I don't do it because of the money. I don't do it because of the fame. I just do it because I love it, and I do it for my family because my family enjoys it."

42. "I know I can get to the basket whenever I want, but I've got to be able to create some plays, like easy plays."

43. "Just every day try to be a leader, try to get better and to help my team win. I just want to be more vocal, like talk more so my teammates can know I got their back."

44. "Many players will tell you, 'When I was a kid, I watched Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, LeBron, Magic, and I wanted to be just like them.' For me, it wasn't like that at all."

45. "When I was young and I could dream a bit, I could see myself participating in the slam dunk contest. I’ve always wanted to experience that."

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Giannis Antetokounmpo Quotes On Success And Winning

46. "It's such a long season, and there's so many games, so many trips, you've got to build habits and be consistent with what you do."

47. "You have so many games to play, and you can do well in one game but bad in the other ones. The thing you've got to be is consistent."

48. "It doesn't matter how you're playing: you've got to be vocal - you've got to be aggressive - if you really want to be one of the best in this league."

49. "I'm going to do whatever it takes for me and my team to be successful."

50. "I'm a really competitive guy. I'm a really stubborn guy. That's what makes me want to take Milwaukee to the top, make Milwaukee a big market team. That's a goal I've set for myself. Hopefully, one day I can achieve it."

51. "When you think about winning, you go to the extreme."

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Giannis' Motivational Quotes About Character

52. "If you are going to do something, you have to do it for yourself, and that's what I try to do. I try to be authentic and try to be original, so that's what I try to be. A lot of people try to build big brands but have received bad advice, and they don't try to be authentic and real with themselves."

53. "A lot of people know who I am now. They want a little bit of me, a little bit of my time. But at the end of the day, I still have to remember who I am."

54. "I'm loyal to the people I work with." 

55. "I believe in myself more than others believe in me."

56. "The most important thing is the heart -- what you feel inside -- the flame inside your heart."

57. "I'm definitely not going to change my personality -- change who I am -- I'm not going to change for nobody."

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Best Quotes From Giannis About Family

58. "We loved our dad. My mom loved her husband. But at the end of the day, I think, he did what he was supposed to do in this world. He had five kids and raised us right. That's the most important thing."

59. "It starts with my family. That drives me every day, just seeing them smiling."

60. "My dad was a soccer player. He didn't know anything about basketball - nothing."

61. "The Bucks and John Hammond chose me in the draft, got me in the NBA, kept me in the team with a role from my very first season, and they are my basketball family."

62. "You can just never forget where you came from."

63. "I get up in the morning, I take a shower, and I go to practice. When I'm finished, the only thing that's on my mind is to go back home and spend time with my family."

64. "Leading your family is a lot tougher than basketball."

65. "I always had to be there for my family. I think that helped me a lot to adjust to the NBA."

66. "I started playing basketball just to help my family, try to get them out of the struggle, the challenges we were facing when we were kids."

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Other Inspirational Giannis Antetokounmpo Quotes

67. "Before I leave this earth, I'm going to help people have a better future."

68. "It's my nature to be fearless."

69. "When you talk about the past, that's your ego talking. It is in the past, and it is over with."

70. "You never know how life turns out."

71. "I hope I give people around the world...hope that it can be done. It can be done."

More motivational basketball quotes:

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