“That’s F*ckin’ Tough”: Giannis Antetokounmpo Explains the Mental Aspect of Returning From Gruesome Knee Injury During NBA Finals

Mental, physical, tactical; sport is a battle on all fronts. It’s not the one with the better game that always comes out on top. Especially in a team sport, communication, mental toughness, and the ‘we over me’ attitude is what trumps physical capabilities. And that’s what Giannis Antetokounmpo accomplished with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks recently captured their first NBA Championship in fifty years. As much as the Bucks were phenomenal on the court, their relentless attitude in pursuit of the ultimate gold made the difference. No matter how badly they fell, they ensured that they got up from the slump ten times stronger. Giannis instilled the mentality in them; he instilled the sheer fearlessness in them.

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Giannis suffered a career-threatening injury

In Game-4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a hyperextension of the knee. This is not a small injury in any sense, and has even ended the careers of professional athletes before. As much as it was a battle with his body, Giannis was fighting against his mind. He wanted to get back on court, but the mental fatigue was perhaps just as taxing as the physical.

When the Greek freak returned against the Phoenix Suns, he did not look as devastating as he was before the injury. Things seemed bleak, but Giannis rose from the tricky terrains. After the first couple of games, Giannis proved why he is a generational talent and one of the league’s toughest. He proved his mettle with a title-sealing 50 points in Game-6 of the NBA Finals, just about three weeks post the scare.

‘Emotional’ Giannis Antetokounmpo overcame his mental adversities

Recently, Giannis opened up about the difficulty of dealing with such pain on a physical and mental level.?“It’s not always about the physical. This playoffs, coming back after Game-4, my knee looked like an elbow. And I wasn’t even hundred percent. People don’t say that. People don’t talk about it,”?an emotional Giannis quoted.

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“I’m emotional, I should not be, but that’s f***in’ tough.” The 26-year-old had a knee that was totally weak, but he managed to recover in lighting quick time. However, the road to recovery was a tedious one.?“That’s the tough part, not winning a game, it’s coming back after your knee looked like an elbow. But that’s how I’m built. I’m never gonna change.”

If tales of recovery and mental toughness such as Giannis’ don’t inspire people, very few things will. Milwaukee Bucks‘ leading man is a living example of a trailblazer. He came, he saw, he failed, he got back up, and now he conquered!