Giannis Claims He Almost Retired In 2020, When He Signed The Largest Contract In NBA History, Because He Was Too Stressed Out

There's obviously more to this story and here's the entire background: 

[Source] - “If something doesn’t make me happy, I don’t do it. I don't want to do it. I’m just going to stay home, stay with my kids, stay with my family and try to be happy. I don’t care.

“And this was right when I signed the largest contract in NBA history.

And what had he been carrying with him for years before? The unexpected death of his father. The exhausting, obsessive work to become MVP. The home country of Greece, needing him for the national team. The endorsement obligations, while fun and lucrative, are still more demands on his time. The only one who ever really hinted at this massive toll was his older brother Thanasis, who respectfully kept Giannis’ privacy while trying to get us to understand, in 2020, how insanely demanding it all was.

I'm not one to judge anyone when it comes to stress or their mental health. But Giannis is open here. He almost retired after signing the biggest contract in NBA history because he wasn't happy. He was dealing with everything like the pressure of being great, the needs of others, COVID, everything else that threw people off. I don't think this is Giannis lying or anything like that, rather him being open. Giannis isn't someone who just says things to say things. 

But imagine if he did. Imagine the world where Giannis signs that deal and steps away. The Bucks immediately become a whatever team. Chris Paul finally gets a ring. Everything that would have changed - maybe the Sixers make an NBA Finals. Maybe the Celtics are viewed as the best team in the East for a couple years. MVP debates would have still been annoying but, hey, maybe Embiid already has one. 

As a basketball fan I'm glad Giannis figured out his stress and everything. I couldn't imagine a world where he just walks away. It would have been Andrew Luck on steroids. Yeah, Luck was awesome. But we're talking about a generational talent in Giannis. We're talking about a guy who ended up winning a title and is the favorite to win another one.