Giannis Antetokounmpo has sent a clear message.
‘The Greek Freak’ very much made his intentions clear on trade rumours that have surrounded the Milwaukee Bucks superstar and expanded on his contentious windmill on the buzzer of the team’s fiery win over Chicago.
Antetokounmpo scored 29 points in his return from an eight-game absence on Sunday (AEDT) following ongoing speculation he’ll seek a trade away from the struggling 13-19 Bucks as soon as before the February 6 deadline.
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Milwaukee, on a gradual decline since its 2021 championship win, went 2-6 in Antetokounmpo’s absence, while he’s contracted until the 2027/28 season but with an opt-out clause in the final year.
Speaking after Sunday’s match, Antetokounmpo shut down a “disrespectful” question on whether he still wants to be in Milwaukee.
“I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. I’m here. It’s disrespectful towards myself and my teammates,” Antetokounmpo told reporters.
“I wear that jersey every single day. It’s disrespectful towards the organisation, my coaching staff, myself, and all the people that work hard for me to come out here and say I don’t want to be here,”
“Don’t ask me that question. I’m here. I’m putting on the jersey. And as long as I’m here, I’m gonna give everything I have, even in the last second of the game.”
It came after the 31-year old threw down a thunderous windmill dunk in the final seconds of the match when Milwaukee had already sewn up the victory in a rare sight that broke the NBA’s unspoken rule to not add to a lead when a game is already decided.
It prompted heated post-match scenes including Bulls centre Nikola Vucevic confronting Antetokounmpo to nearly ignite an all-in brawl.
Antetokounmpo, who also took to X (formerly known as Twitter) with a not-so-subtle post sharing a picture of the dunk, explained his motivation to reporters.
“Are we 11th in the East or 12th? We just gotta keep finding our identity,” Antetokounmpo said.
“If we need to get a bit scrappy at the end, so be it. We’re not the champs. Why should ‘play the clock out and have respect and fair play’, we’re fighting for our lives right now.
“This is real talk. I’ve been 13 years in the league. If we keep on losing, probably half of the team won’t be here. We’re not going to make the playoffs. I really don’t care. At the end of the day, I just want to be available, be healthy and help my team win.
“And if (a windmill dunk) is what has to happen for everybody to wake up and understand, we’re fighting for our lives and we got to get our hands dirty, so be it.”
Clearly, Vucevic wasn’t a fan.
Asked about the post-match scenes, the Bulls big man used it as an opportunity to take a cheeky shot at Antetokounmpo and the trade drama surrounding him.
“I’m assuming Giannis was mad about that report that came out that the Bulls didn’t want to trade for him,” the 35-year told reporters.
Vucevic added with a sarcastic tone: “I asked him why you did (the dunk). He said: ‘Yeah, you guys didn’t want to trade for me’.”
The two teams rematch in Milwaukee on February 4 (all times AEDT).
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