Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ‘motivational mind trick’ traces back to Carmelo Anthony and Knicks
The New York Knicks will have their toughest test of the regular season thus far on Friday when they face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in Milwaukee. After three games against opponents in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference, the match-up will be a good way to gauge where the Knicks are at this early in the season.
Milwaukee’s one year removed from winning a championship, and in 2021-22, the Bucks lost to the Celtics in the conference semifinals. Antetokounmpo, who was the No. 15 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, is only 27 years old, but he’s already been able to carve out his spot as one of the best to ever play in the NBA.
Antetokounmpo has won two MVP awards, one NBA Finals MVP award, one DPOY award, one MIP award, and an NBA championship. He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet, either. Part of that is because of Giannis’ mentality.
In a conversation with The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (subscription required), Antetokounmpo opened up about his “motivational mind trick” that allows him to continue to push forward. In fact, this “trick” dates back to 2013 when the Bucks hosted Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo first used his “mind trick” against Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks in 2013
On Dec. 18, 2013, Melo (29 points) led New York to a 107-101 overtime victory over Milwaukee, who fell to 2-11 at home. As a rookie, Giannis finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Here’s what Antetokounmpo had to say following the loss:
"After the game, Antetokounmpo told reporters he wouldn’t stand for Anthony “bullying my teammates and me” and “talking to me all the time.” Anthony’s smile and those remarks after the game led to a long-held assumption that Anthony was talking trash to Antetokounmpo during the game, something Antetokounmpo claimed when he retold the story to The Athletic in 2019."
Based on Giannis’ words, it’s safe to assume that Melo was running his mouth, right? Wrong. Eric Nehm asked Antetokounmpo if Anthony talked trash to him that night nine years ago, and Giannis revealed that Melo didn’t.
"“Carmelo probably asked me like, ‘What’s your name?’ ” Antetokounmpo said with a final laugh. “Yeah, that’s crazy. It was that early."
It’s all part of the game that Antetokounmpo plays with himself. As he said, he lies to himself, but Giannis uses these made-up scenarios as motivation. It’s something that he says he does “all the time.” According to Antetokounmpo, he tries “to change the script.”
Little did Melo know that a no-name (at the time) rookie stirred up a completely untrue scenario in his head to drive him to go up against someone that finished third in MVP votes a season before. But clearly, it’s a tool that’s worked for Giannis, so much so that he still uses it to this day. The power of the mind is incredible.
Maybe tonight at Fiserv Forum, Julius Randle will say a few words to Antetokounmpo before the game. A simple greeting like that could be warped in Giannis’ mind, so much so that he’ll pretend that Randle is out to get him.
Let Giannis Antetokounmpo believe what he wants but at the end of the night, hopefully the result will be similar to the one that Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks enjoyed nearly a decade ago.
