NBA-ийн од тоглогч Яанис Антетокунмпо Майами Хит багт шилжин ирснээр шинэ сорилтыг эхлүүлэхэд бэлэн боллоо.
Майамид ирсэн даруйдаа Яанис Антетокунмпо бүх зүйл шинэ байгааг онцлоод, өөрийн шинэ дасгалжуулагч Эрик Споэльстра болон багийн ерөнхийлөгч Пэт Райли нартай хамтран ажиллахдаа баяртай байгаагаа илэрхийлжээ. Тэрээр 13 жил тоглосон Милуоки Бакс багтаа хүндэтгэл үзүүлэх үүднээс өмнө нь эзэмшиж байсан 34 дугаараа сольж, Майамид 7 дугаартай тоглохоор шийдсэн байна.
Пэт Райли шинэ тоглогчоо угтан авахдаа маш их баяртай байгаагаа илэрхийлж, багийн соёлд нийцэх ялалтын төлөөх хүсэл эрмэлзэл Яанист байгааг онцоллоо. Тэрээр багийн бүрэлдэхүүнийг сайжруулах нь аварга болох гол алхам гэж үзэж байгаа бөгөөд Яанис ч мөн адил дахин нэг удаа аварга цолыг хүртэхийн тулд бүх хүчээ дайчлахаа мэдэгдлээ.
Яанис өөрийг нь хатуу шаардлага тавьж, үнэнчээр хандах дасгалжуулагчтай ажиллахыг хүсэж байгаагаа дурдав. Тэрээр өнгөрсөн улиралд плэй-оффт шалгарч чадаагүй багтаа ирсэн нь өөрийнх нь хувьд томоохон сорилт гэдгийг хүлээн зөвшөөрч, тухтай бүсээсээ гарч, илүү өндөр түвшинд тоглохыг зорьж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
MIAMI — Thursday was all about new things for Miami Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Everything is new,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think until last night, when I got off the plane, it hadn’t hit me yet.
“The people that welcome you into the city are different. And then you’re going to a facility that’s unknown. You don’t know where your locker is. You don’t know where you’re going to get treatment. You don’t even know how to get access to the court. Like, all these things are new.”
Eventually, Antetokounmpo was able to find the facility, the practice court and his new workout gear. He was able to get on the floor for a morning workout. He was able to make his way to his new locker room and take a look at his new jersey, which was embroidered with his new number.
After he was done with all of that, he took a short rest before taking the stage at his new arena with his new president, Pat Riley, and his new head coach, Erik Spoelstra.
“It’s like nirvana for me,” Riley said. “I think this is just part of who the Heat are and the pursuit of excellence. But you don’t win championships unless you upgrade this on the court and on the bench. … I’m just excited, so excited for this challenge. And (the) challenge is nothing more than playing for higher stakes.”
Riley revealed that he yelled and screamed in excitement when Heat general manager Andy Elisburg informed him that the Heat had agreed to a deal with the Bucks and managed to pry Antetokounmpo out of Milwaukee.
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He briefly mentioned that he hoped Elisburg was going to find a way to land another former MVP — a clear reference to the pursuit of four-time NBA MVP LeBron James — but also made it clear that landing Antetokounmpo would be enough for the Heat to compete at the highest level again.
“I remember the first call that I had with Giannis when we could speak,” Riley said. “It wasn’t long, but I felt and heard the conviction in his voice about the same things that I wanted, that Spo wants, that the Arison family wants. He just talked about winning. Didn’t have to throw a bunch of bouquets at one another. It was business, right on that phone call.
“He wants to win and he wants to win big. We’re not guaranteeing anything, but we want to win … another chip. And we’re not waiting. We’re not going to wait.”
Antetokounmpo, much like Riley, made it clear there is a singular goal for him in joining the Heat.
“I enjoy basketball. I enjoy the challenge. I enjoy getting better,” Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously, I’ve accomplished a lot of things in my career, but one of my goals is to win another championship and I really wanna do it. At times, whenever I really put my mind into something, I usually accomplish it. I feel like this is the best route for me to do that, so I’m excited for it.”
While Antetokounmpo spoke often about his excitement during Thursday’s introductory press conference, he also made sure to regularly reference the Milwaukee Bucks and how starting a new chapter in Miami meant closing the book on his time in Milwaukee. That was especially clear when he explained the reasoning behind changing his jersey number from 34 in Milwaukee to seven in Miami.
“The reason that I really changed my number is because I feel like 34 holds so much weight and has so much history, and out of respect to the organization that drafted me and I played for for 13 years, I decided to leave that number there and try to start a new chapter,” Antetokounmpo said. “Hopefully, I can leave my mark here in Miami and make number seven as legendary as number 34.
“It’s almost like having closure for me mentally and emotionally, just to have closure from that number because it meant a lot to me.”
Ideally, both Antetokounmpo and the Bucks would have been able to make a clean break, but the end of Antetokounmpo’s time in Milwaukee was chalk full of drama. Whether it was trade rumors or the disagreement over Antetokounmpo’s health status to close the season, the final few months of his time in Milwaukee got uglier than anyone would have hoped.
In the end, though, Antetokounmpo still found himself hoping for the best for the organization, similarly to how the organization showed copious respect to Antetokounmpo for his record-breaking tenure in Milwaukee.
“After all this took place, I feel like they’re in a good place,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m in a good place. I have so much respect for them. I hope they have respect for me and for the things that I’ve done in that city, but getting a phone call from Mr. Pat [Riley], he gave me a lot of closure. I was like, OK, now it’s a new beginning.”
That closure also helped Antetokounmpo open up to Riley about what lies ahead in Miami.
“I was being a little bit vulnerable with him,” Antetokounmpo said. “I was like, ‘I know you guys think I’m like this big, tough beast … but at the end of the day, I’m human. I have my emotions.’ And I was like, “I’m scared. I’m kind of scared. This is different.’
“But we had the conversation. I told him I’m excited. I’m going to work hard and I’m going to do whatever I can for the team to respect (me) and for your guys’ culture and history and hopefully, I can leave a mark here.”
For Antetokounmpo, a big part of the next step in Miami comes down to the two leaders that were sitting up on the stage with him on Thursday.
Antetokounmpo told reporters that during their first phone call he had to reveal to Riley that he snuck into the Heat president’s office to catch a glimpse of what an NBA legend does. On top of that, the two-time MVP talked about how he looked forward to getting coached by Spoelstra.
“I just want to be coached hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’d rather you tell me an ugly truth than a beautiful lie. I feel like the moment I’m coached hard, everybody else’s gonna follow … I need the truth. I need the right feedback, so I can be able to apply that to life and the game of basketball. I’m excited to be coached by him.
“I’ve had conversations with people that I trust about him and his approach to the game and they’ve told me he’s a workaholic. He doesn’t leave the gym. He really loves this and he’s really dedicated to his craft. He’s really good at Xs and Os. I’m excited. I’m excited to be coached by him. I’m excited to be here and I know he’s going to get the best out of me, but I need him to push me and tell me the truth.”
Ultimately, while all parties involved talked about the excitement of their new partnership and how much it meant to Antetokounmpo to get a chance to compete for a championship with a new team, the reality remains in the work ahead of them in Miami and the challenge will be significant for a team that missed the playoffs last season.
“I’m ready for the challenge,” Antetokounmpo said. “I love pressure. I think pressure brings the best out of me. That’s what I’ve seen so far in my career. I don’t like being in my comfort zone. I think this is the right place to be.”
