Giannis Antetokounmpo Has High Praise For Coaches Like Joe Mazzulla Who Don’t Make Excuses

Giannis Antetokounmpo recently sat down for a lengthy interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel where he attempted to address everything that had been going on with the Bucks this season. That included whether or not he would be back in Milwaukee next season. As with many of his previous comments about his status with the only team he's ever known, he was kind of on the fence.

He wants to stay in Milwaukee. He loves Milwaukee. But he wants to win so maybe he should be somewhere else? And despite a franchise superstar, two-time MVP and NBA champion set to make more than $58 million next season with a player option worth nearly $63 million the year after that, well, you'd think he didn't have a say in anything.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

The quote from the interview that seems to be getting the most attention involves Joe Mazzulla and has many wondering if he's taking a shot at current Bucks head coach Doc Rivers. It sure sounds like that could be the case. Via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

“Everything about my decision is based on winning; culture. Like you saw I talked with [Boston] coach Joe Mazzulla. I said, ‘You had so many opportunities to make excuses, but you didn't.’ [The Celtics started the season slow.] And he said, ‘Oh, they're good players.’”

Boston Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla yells instructions to his team during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets. — Giannis Antetokounmpo cited Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla as one who doesn’t “make excuses” in a recent interview as his future with the Bucks hangs in limbo. | Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images

Rivers does love to make excuses. Antetokounmpo also used Greece’s national coach, Vassillis Spanoulis as another example of coaches who don’t make excuses saying, “That why I love Spanoulis. It's about the mentality that he’s instilled in the [Greek] national team, that we are here to give everything that we have. We are here to bond together. We are here to figure out ways to win. No excuses. Move as a group and you move as a unit. So, I love that.”

Then things got really confusing.

“I won't say that our team right now is not like that, but—maybe I might be wrong, but I don’t think I am; I have the most years out of everybody in that locker room—I think that some people know how to win; some people don’t. It’s not because they don't want to, it’s just because they've never been in that stage before.”

He won’t say it’s not like that, but maybe he’s wrong, but he doesn’t think he is. Hope that clears things up.

As for whether or not he’ll be back in Milwaukee next season ... that still seems very much up in the air. The interview closed with him talking about how much the city means to him and his family, but also wondering out loud whether he made the wrong decision re-signing there.

“Is it bad for me saying, I’m 31 years old, I won the championship when I was 26 years old. Then the question creeps in your head, like ... Did I wait too long? Did I do the right thing?”

And to add one more level of confusion on which way he's personally leaning, he mentions having conversations with all-time greats like Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki. A frustrated Garnett was traded after 12 years in Minnesota and immediately won a title elsewhere while Nowitzki remained with Dallas his entire career.

More NBA From Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.