Giannis Antetokounmpo Provides Important Reminder for Adults in Youth Sports
Perspective Matters
The two-minute clip of Giannis Antetokounmpo in a post-game interview on April 27, 2023 spread across the world via social media, sparking back-and-forth quips and retorts about “success” and “failure.”
It felt like the majority pushed back at Giannis’ answer, insisting that his and Milwaukee’s season was a failure because the Bucks were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and that, despite his team-high 38 points, Giannis failed because he missed 13 of 23 free throws in a two-point loss to the Miami Heat.
I weighed in too, lamenting the insensitivity of the reporter’s question (“Do you view this season as a failure?”), and highlighting the brilliance of Giannis’ answer and his “steps to success.” You can watch the clip via my Facebook or Twitter posts.
But on a night when the New York Knicks advanced out of the first round of the playoffs for only the second time in 23 years, and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James shot 5-of-17 in a 17-point loss and Heat star Jimmy Butler scored 42 points in securing the upset of the Bucks, why did Giannis’ comments on failure trend above all else?
Days later, I reflected on something Giannis has reminded us: Perspective matters.
You see, that reporter’s questioned spoke for the masses. And let’s be honest, most children would feel the same way, that the Bucks’ season was a failure.
Therein lies one of the major problems in youth sports: Too many adults are seeing things in the same way as the kids. Ideally, though, adults should be leaning into their perspective, something that children simply can’t have. Because the only way to gain perspective is through time, through experiences, through highs and especially lows. No matter how mature a child is — nor challenges and adversities he or she has already had — they cannot have the perspective, broadly speaking, of an adult.