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“One of the Most Hurt Moments in My Career”: NBA Champion Hits the Nerve of ‘Salty’ Giannis Antetokounmpo by Bringing Up His Past Failures

Published 11/15/2022, 9:10 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Season 5 of one-time NBA Champion Serge Ibaka’s ‘How hungry are you?’ premiered on his YouTube channel earlier today. His first guest was his teammate and two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Milwaukee Bucks duo spoke about Antetokounmpo’s growth and shared stories about playing the league with his brother. However, Ibaka didn’t shy away from asking his teammate about a moment in their career when Ibaka got the better of Antetokounmpo.

Before joining the Bucks, Ibaka played for the Toronto Raptors. In 2019, Ibaka and the Raptors faced Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals. During the series, Antetokounmpo was the top runner for the MVP of the season.

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Hence, fans voted for the Bucks as the favorites to win the conference finals. However, what followed left everyone shocked. Antetokounmpo addressed this series as “one of the most hurt moments in my career.” 

Giannis Antetokounmpo on the most hurtful moment of his career

Serge Ibaka brought up the topic of the Eastern Conference finals. He asked Giannis Antetokounmpo about what he remembers from the series. Antetokounmpo took a deep breath and called the playoff series the most painful memory. He added, “Whenever I see you (Ibaka), you remind me of it.” 

Read More: “Protect This Man at All Costs”: Humble Truth From $228 Million Giannis Antetokounmpo Leaves Fans in a Meltdown

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Following this, the duo discussed the series while breaking down each game. The Milwaukee Bucks started the series off on a high. After winning the first two games, the odds were clearly in the Bucks’ favor. During game three, in the last quarter, the Bucks were up by 12 points. With 4 minutes to spare, the Raptors dominated on both ends of the court. Their resilient effort resulted in two overtimes. Eventually, the Raptors beat the Bucks by 4 points.

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via Imago

Antetokounmpo strongly believed that this is where the shift in momentum occurred. The series ended with the Toronto Raptors reaching the NBA Finals. Serge Ibaka stated that he couldn’t believe what had happened. He simply said, “We beat you guys 4 games in a row, I couldn’t believe that.” 

This segment of the episode ended with a handshake between Ibaka and Antetokounmpo. However, while Ibaka gloated about the Raptor’s performance, Antetokounmpo cheekily reminded Ibaka that he isn’t with the Raptors anymore. He said, “You know you play for the Bucks now right?”

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Watch this Story: I Felt Small: Serena Williams and Daughter Olympia Meet NBA Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo

Ibaka and the Raptors won their first-ever NBA championship title that year as they shocked the world again by beating the Golden State Warriors. Kawhi Leonard was crowned the Finals MVP. During the same year, Antetokounmpo was named the regular season MVP.

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Written by:

Shriya Rajachandra

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Shriya Rajachandra is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. She earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism, Psychology, and Communicative English. Shriya previously interned at The New Indian Express, but her favorite journalist, Marcus Thompson motivated her to start writing about basketball.
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Edited by:

Bagavathi Eswaran