This isn't Celtics news, but I think this is the thread we were discussing JB's podcast comments:
One day after his playoff run was cut shorter than anticipated, league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander called his season a failure due to the lack of a second consecutive championship.
"I failed at my goal," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I didn't achieve what I wanted to achieve. But I learn the most about myself and make the greatest amount of increases in my career when I fail and don't get what I want. I look at this no different. I didn't get where I wanted to go this season. There's a reason for that. Now I have to look at that reason and try to make sure it never happens again."
What a contrast.
No question that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets it. That has been clear all along. He is all business on and off the court. No complaining about the refs or any unnecessary narratives. I do think that Brown's comments got overblown (comes with the territory), but SGA gave the textbook way to handle this.
A solid answer from the MVP playing on the team expected to win back-to-back titles vs the top player who was in the MVP discussion discussing a team many people expected to miss the playoffs completely or at best make the play-in. night and day scenarios. I will say the complaining about the officiating wasn't a good look but it's not like he didn't have a point with the disparity in the officiating
I think the JB comments have been ridiculously overblown and twisted to mean the most negative thing they could possibly be passed off as.
I don?t see what the above has to do with their comments. Both guys failed to take their teams to the Finals. Both were favored to make it there going into the playoffs. SGA views the season as a failure as his team fell short. JB doesn?t seem to mind much and said that this was his favorite season.
it has a lot to do with their comments. context is a lot.
- SGA was expected to carry his team to a title and he didn't. he spoke to that very point and said all the right things.
- JB was expected to flounder as the top banana on the C's this year and as a result the team was also expected to flounder. JB and the team exceeded all expectations and he spoke to that point (not as eloquently as some require in order not to crucify him) and in that regard it was most satisfying in shutting up the naysayers. Of course there's so many people looking to knock JB if given the slightest opening, there's basically nothing he can say or do that he won't get needlessly hammered for. Apparently being proud of himself and the team overcoming low expectations this year is nothing to be proud of according to his detractors.
to put it in another context that might make the point -- picture the top player on a different team saying he was proud of what the team accomplished and it was his favorite season because they overachieved even though it wasn't a title. would you still be all up in arms over that player saying it? I highly doubt it.
