Giannis Antetokounmpo's comments about failure still have the sports world talking

Giannis Antetokounmpo's thoughtful response to what constitutes "failure" seems to have struck a nerve in the sports world, and many other figures have offered their own spin or echoed his sentiments.

Antetokounmpo offered the comments after the Bucks were eliminated by the Miami Heat in five games in the first round of the NBA playoffs, a shocking upset that unceremoniously brought Milwaukee's season to an end after it posted the NBA's best regular-season record.

“Every year you work, you work towards something, towards a goal, right? Which is to get a promotion, be able to take care of your family, to be able to provide the house for them or take care of your parents," he said. "You work towards a goal. It’s not a failure; it’s steps to success."

“There's always steps to it,” Antetokounmpo continued. “Michael Jordan played 15 years, won six championships; the other nine years was a failure? That's what you're telling me?

“There's no failure in sports. You know, there's good days, bad days. Some days you are able to be successful, some days you're not. Some days it’s your turn, some days it’s not your turn. And that's what sports is about. You don't always win; some other team’s gonna win. And this year, somebody else is gonna win. Simple as that.

“We’re gonna come back next year, try to be better, try to build good habits, try to play better, not have a 10-day stretch with play bad basketball. You know, and hopefully we can win a championship. So 50 years from 1971 to 2021 that we didn't win a championship, it was 50 years of failure? No, it was not. It was steps to it. You know, and we were able to win one. Hopefully we can win another one.”

The comments caught the attention of these sports luminaries:

Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal

Immediately after the loss to the Heat, the Inside the NBA studio hosts had differing reactions.

"I understand why he was mad about the question because, if he plays every game, it might have been a different series," Charles Barkley said of Antetokounmpo's bristling at the question about whether the season was a failure. "I don't look at every time somebody doesn't win. It's disappointing he got hurt earlier in the series and it's unfortunate. Having that kid as the face of our league is one of the great things."

Then, there's Shaq's view:

"He missed a lot of free throws. We talked about that before we talked about how his team shot, so when he's a great player and we expect you to win and you don't win, in my mind, that is a failure," O'Neal said. "I played 19 seasons, and I failed 15 seasons. When I didn't win, it was a failure. … I can't tell everybody how to think. But when I watch guys before me, the Birds, the Kareems … that's how they thought, so that's how I was raised. He's not a failure as a player, but is it a failure as a season? I would say yes, but also I like his explanation. I can understand and respect his explanation, but for me, when we didn't win, it was always my fault and it was definitely a failure."

Steve Kerr

The head coach of the Golden State Warriors and a man who's won four NBA championships as a coach and five as a player complimented Antetokounmpo just before the Warriors' Game 6 loss to the Sacramento Kings in the first round (the Warriors won the series in seven).

"My reaction was just how lucky we are to have Giannis in the league and being one of the marquee stars in the league, not only for his talent, but his humanity and his perspective. He's so right. Are there really 29 failures every year in the league? One team — It just can't be a zero sum game. The other thing is like these guys — I watch our guys every day and I know this goes on around the league but — these guys work so hard and they put so much into it.

"And so, when you hear terms like embarrassment or shame, like, why should anybody on Milwaukee be embarrassed or ashamed that they lost a playoff series? They shouldn't. Giannis is right. Nobody should be embarrassed. As long as they put in the work and put in the effort, which you know they did, this is sports of the highest level. Miami's a hell of a team. Jimmy Butler's one of the great players in the league. Erik Spoelstra's one of great coaches in the league. You can say all that stuff — upset and one versus eight and all that — these are the greatest players on Earth. They're competing against each other. And somebody's gonna win, somebody's gonna lose. And I just think we're so lucky to have a guy like Giannis leading our league and talking some sense into people and offering perspective."

Naomi Osaka

Four-time Grand Slam champion tennis star Naomi Osaka said the words from Antetokounmpo were a breath of fresh air.

“This is probably the most refreshing perspective I’ve heard. I think it changed my life, lol,” Osaka wrote on her Instagram Story. The 25-year-old is welcoming her first child in the summer and has said recently she expects to return to tennis thereafter.

Darvin Ham

The Los Angeles Lakers head coach and former Bucks assistant said he was proud of his former pupil.

"And he's just being who he really is in that way. A total class act," Ham said. "Some guys would be irritated by that question. And he does look concerned. But the answer he gave was just who he is.

"Success is a step-by-step process. Nothing happens overnight. We have a saying, 'Adherence to the daily process leads to progress.' He's all about that. And I was proud of him, actually. Very proud of him.

Paul George

Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George, whose Clippers were also bounced from the first round of the playoffs, offered his thoughts on a podcast, separating personal outcomes from team outcomes.

"I failed 13 times of winning the championship. That's what I trained for, winning the championship," George said. "But year 3, I was an all-star. I didn't fail. I had a hell of a season. I became an all-star, I became a household name. I didn't fail, I overcame a ton of obstacles.

"Year 4, I earned a max contract. I didn't fail from an individual standpoint. But when you look at as a team standpoint, the odds were stacked for them to win a championship, they were one of the top three teams tow in a championship. Y'all didn't win a championship, y'all failed. You failed that season. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with failure. Failure is what drives you. This next year, they should be a completely different team because of the lesson learned. There's no reason to be afraid to say you failed."

Carlo Ancelotti

The Real Madrid coach, the most decorated manager in Champions League history, said he agreed 100% with Giannis's comments.

"In sport you can't talk about failure, and in life you can't talk about failure," Ancelotti said. "Failure is when you don't try to do something as well as you can. When you try to do your best, you have a clear conscience, and that's never a failure, not just in sport but in life.

"I have a big cabinet with a lot of trophies, but if I had to include all the ones I've lost, it wouldn't be a cabinet, it would be a house."

Massimiliano Allegri

The embattled Juventus leader also quoted Giannis, pairing it with disagreement over media reports that players within the Italian club aren't happy with the management.

“People have a lot of imagination and when Juventus, lose many false things are said. The other day, I heard Giannis talking about failure. There will be moments when we don’t win, but we need to create the conditions to do it. Only one team wins and we need to be that team.”

Asked if he'd be satisfied with merely a top-four finish in Serie A, Allegri got more animated.

“You asked me a question: ‘Are you satisfied?’ I am satisfied when I win the title, the Champions League, the Coppa Italia, but it’s impossible. Otherwise, I have to mention Giannis’ press conference again.

“Are you satisfied if you’ll be here asking questions again next season? I am asking you. If you’ll be here again, it means you have failed?"

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis on failure after NBA playoffs still has sports world talking