Giannis Antetokounmpo says he's not losing sleep over criticism from ex-players, adding he might be 'bitter' too if he was 45 or 50
Drake BentleyBucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo shared Friday in an interview that he hears some of the criticism from ex-players through teammates and family but said it doesn't keep him up at night. It just makes him want to work harder.
Criticism from ex-players was just one of the topics discussed on the Sirius XM NBA Radio program "The Starting Lineup." Giannis also provided a little insight into what his family thought of his Disney movie, "Rise," and discussed how he'd like to "disappear" in retirement, expressing his disdain for his popularity he's earned over the last nine seasons in the NBA.
Giannis shared with the show's hosts — NBA writer Frank Isola and former Boston Celtic Brian Scalabrine — that he tries to avoid most social chatter, but he ends up finding out in the locker room or because his longtime partner, Mariah Riddlesprigger, or mother, Veronica Antetokounmpo, will tell him about it.
"People talk in the locker room. My significant other might come to me and tell me did you hear what this guy said about you. Or my mother, she's on Facebook all day. ... She knows everything. You know, she's my number one fan, or stalker I'd say. She's my mom," Giannis joked.
Last season, Giannis was the topic of conversation on NBA talk shows after former player Charles Oakley said that Giannis would be coming off the bench in the '80s or '90s. A couple of days after Oakley's podcast appearance, NBA legend Isiah Thomas blasted Oakley and said Giannis would dominate in the '80s and '90s.
More recently, former NBA player Gilbert Arenas made headlines when he said Giannis wasn't even close to being the best player in the league.
"He doesn't understand basketball yet," Arenas said. "He plays the sport, he won a championship, cool. He doesn't really understand how to be great, how to be better, how to train his body."
Isola and Scalabrine asked Giannis to respond on Friday and of course the two-time MVP took the high road.
"Does it bother me? I'm not going to lie, it makes me want to work harder," Giannis said. "Do I go back home and think about it and I can't sleep? Not necessarily.
"But at the end of the day, hey, I don't know, when I am 45 years old, 50 years old, I might be, you know, a little bit bitter, too. I might be seeing, you know, this 20-year-old making, signing a three-year 900 million. ... Maybe, I don't know, but I don't think so.
"Because I'm grateful for everything that God has blessed me with, for my kids, for my brothers, for my family, for my father, you know, for my son and the people I work with. I'm grateful for it. And I don't think I'm going to be like that."
Giannis says he'd like to 'disappear' in retirement, asks 'where the hell is Tim Duncan?'
The topic of Giannis in his 40s and 50s came up again in the interview while he addressed his popularity.
The show's hosts asked how his Europe experience was this summer playing for the Greek national team, to which he said he definitely notices his popularity but said he "doesn't like it."
"When I retire from this game I want to disappear. I want to go somewhere that they will not know me. I went to Sweden two years ago and nobody knew me."
Giannis, being the young millennial that he is, made a social media post in the streets of Sweden yelling that nobody knew who he was. "Nobody bothered me, it was fun."
Giannis went on to note how taxing it must be for ultra-famous former NBA players Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, saying "they've retired, but people still, like, know them and follow them ... I don't know if I can do that."
"I want to be like Tim Duncan, where the hell is Tim Duncan? I don't know where Tim Duncan is. I want to play the game and then forget about me."
Giannis says his Disney movie 'Rise' was good but watered down
Giannis' popularity grew exponentially, especially among younger children when Disney released a movie — "Rise" — chronicling his childhood.
He said his real-life experience was much tougher than the Disney film and that his mom was not a fan of the original script.
"They're doing their job, I call it dramatized, fabricate. ... My mom told them from day one, we don't want that. We want our story. ... The true story, it's not kid friendly," Giannis said.
"(Life) was definitely a lot harder. And, there was things we couldn't say. It's very hard to put in a two-hour movie, your whole life. So, we decided together to put as much as we can, things that people can get inspired from. See a little bit a glimpse of our story, and I think they did an unbelievable job."
Giannis said it took multiple Zoom calls, "hours and hours" of conversation to convince his mom to approve the script. "The final piece, it was good. My mom was happy, that's what I care about. My brothers loved it. I think my dad would be extremely proud of the movie."
Giannis added he "cannot wait" for a movie to be released that is "more dark," because that would be more accurate.
Contact Drake Bentley at 414-391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.
