Giannis is currently the greatest NBA player in the world, now solidified with his first championship. He has been open about his story from poverty in Greece, family hustling on the streets and with a goal to support his family.
Lesson #1 - no one makes it alone
This is an important lesson. It shows that to make it to the top of the mountain, you need the right people that believe in you, your goal, and will help provide the support you need in order to achieve success.
This can come in many forms, from having the right sports coach, the right strength coach, the right sports medicine team, the right team mates. This will create the environment that will help you grow as a person and increase the chances of achieving your goal.
You can move quickly on your own, but you can go much further with the right support around you.
Lesson #2 - by making someone else better, you must become better yourself
Giannis was drafted with Khris Middleton, and they both pushed each other to be better. Because if Giannis knew Khris got better, he would also get better as well.
By creating an environment where the people you train with to get better, you'll become better as well. This is called healthy competition. The want to see someone get better has a positive carry-over to yourself as they'll begin to challenge you to improve...it's a win-win situation.
This is true for everyone, if you're in an environment where you're not pushing someone to be better, the likelihood you'll become better is pretty low.
Lesson #3 - there are always going to be setbacks
When Giannis made it to the NBA, his parents were still in Greece. He felt alone whilst in his first season with the Bucks. His parents' Visas were rejected 2 times to come to the U.S. This was almost enough for him to leave and go back home. After the 3rd attempt, he found out that they had had their Visa application accepted.
Given when he was living in Greece attending high school, he and his younger brother would sleep in the gym they trained in as it was too far to walk back (7+ km) in order to be back in the morning for training.
This is even more important to adapt as we're living in uncertain times with COVID, lockdowns, and continual disruptions to learning. We still need to be able to overcome any adversity and 'stay on track' with our goals and objectives we want to achieve.
Gianni's story is one that will immortalise him. He is the product of who he surrounded himself with and would make the same people better by positively challenging them. These same lessons can be applied to your situation.
If you're looking for the right environment to develop your sporting abilities contact Inner Athlete today to get the support you need.
Trent Pirihi
Founder and Head Strength Coach
Inner Athlete
