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Giannis Antetokounmpo on balancing trying to trust the process or taking over a game

"I think that’s one of the toughest things of being a leader."
Jonas Panerio|
© Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports

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Milwaukee Bucks

For someone as talented as Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, every game is an exercise in balancing the fine line between trusting his teammates and taking the game over by himself. As one of the league's most dominant players, Antetokounmpo constantly faces the challenge of maintaining a team-first mentality while also showcasing his individual skills.

In the postgame presser, after the Bucks lost to the Utah Jazz, Antetokounmpo opened up about how difficult it can be to find that balance as a leader.

Tough to be a leader

Giannis almost always makes the right plays; let a defender take him one-on-one, and he will overpower them, send a double team his way, and he will find the open man. On Sunday against the Jazz, Antetokounmpo carved up the Jazz' defense with his pinpoint passing, racking up 11 assists after the third quarter.

However, the well went dry in the fourth as the Bucks went 4-of-17 from the field in a 123-108 defeat. Giannis finished the game with 33 points, 13 assists, and seven boards. After the game, he spoke of toeing the line between being a leader and trying to do too much.

"I think that's one of the toughest things of being a leader," Antetokounmpo said.

"Like, do you take it upon yourself or do you keep on trusting the process and trust the system and trust what we've been doing all game? And there's some times that you have to do that, and there's some times that you just gotta trust."

Teammates were wide open

The fourth quarter offered Giannis more of the same defensive coverage, which left many of his teammates wide-open. However, his teammates couldn't convert their shots, fueling the fire for the Jazz's impressive comeback victory from 19 points down.

"I feel like the whole game, guys were wide open. They were showing so much help. And guys, like the whole game, we had wide-open shots, and early in the game, we made a few of them. And late in the game, we couldn't make nothing," Giannis added.

"But the approach doesn't change. You have to keep on playing the right way. And I think we played that way. We just missed a lot of shots in the last eight minutes."

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Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO