{"id":1864760,"date":"2026-04-04T01:10:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1864760"},"modified":"2026-04-04T01:10:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:10:53","slug":"giannis-antetokounmpo-excoriates-bucks-for-sitting-him-as-nba-investigation-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1864760","title":{"rendered":"Giannis Antetokounmpo excoriates Bucks for sitting him as NBA investigation continues"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MILWAUKEE \u2014 Calling it \u201cagainst my nature\u201d to sit out games, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo insisted he is healthy enough to play but is being held out by the only team he has represented in his 13-year NBA career.<\/p>\n

A league investigation into the matter, as first reported by The Athletic<\/em>, is ongoing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou know who you are dealing with,\u201d Antetokounmpo said in an interview with local reporters one hour before Friday\u2019s game against the Boston Celtics. \u201cSo for somebody to come and tell me to not play or not to compete, it\u2019s like a slap in my face. So, I don\u2019t know where the relationship goes from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NBA has been looking into Antetokounmpo\u2019s situation, a source briefed on the situation tells The Athletic<\/em>, and has been engaged in conversations with the Bucks. The National Basketball Players Association previously issued a statement<\/a> asserting that Antetokounmpo was healthy and being withheld from games as part of a tanking effort by the Bucks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen a case of a player saying, my caliber of player, that\u2019s like \u2014 I\u2019m saying it publicly \u2014 I want to f\u2013-ing play. You know what I\u2019m saying?\u201d Antetokounmpo said Friday. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve seen this. So, if there needs to be an investigation, great. There should be. I don\u2019t know. There should be. Until we figure something out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo has not played since hyperextending his left knee in the Bucks\u2019 134-123 win over the Indiana Pacers on March 15. While the Bucks have listed him out for the last 10 games with a bone bruise, Antetokounmpo said Friday that he is actually healthy and has been for weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m available to play, but I\u2019m not in the game,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cI\u2019m available to play today. Right now. I\u2019m available. Do I look like I\u2019m not available? \u2026 I don\u2019t see myself in the first 12. I don\u2019t see myself in the starting lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what game is being played right here, I just don\u2019t wanna be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As first reported by The Athletic<\/em><\/a>, the Bucks approached Antetokounmpo about getting shut down for the remainder of the season, an idea the franchise\u2019s all-time leading scorer firmly rebuffed. On Friday, Antetokounmpo claimed the organization has not communicated with him about the possibility of returning since that first conversation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI had an initial conversation with who I should be talking to, which is coach Doc (Rivers) \u2014 let\u2019s just keep it at coach Doc and (general manager) Jon (Horst) \u2014 and the initial conversation is that I want to play. And after that I\u2019ve never had a conversation again,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cNobody has ever approached me (about) not playing or whatever the plan is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Before speaking with local reporters Friday, Antetokounmpo went through a full pregame workout on the Fiserv Forum floor, just as he has done before nearly every game since being put on the injured list. Dripping with sweat, the 31-year-old forward punctuated his workout with a loud windmill dunk before chatting with coaches and teammates, including both of his brothers, in the courtside seats.<\/p>\n

Giannis\u2019 older brother, Thanasis, has been his teammate for six seasons, but his youngest brother, Alex, made his NBA debut and scored his first NBA points in the Bucks\u2019 123-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard somebody say that, \u2018Oh, he says that he wants to play, but he doesn\u2019t really want to play,\u2019\u201d Giannis Antetokounmpo said. \u201cFirst of all, I don\u2019t know who gives you information like that \u2026 you\u2019d be an idiot to have an opportunity to play with your brother that you\u2019re eight years older than him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I played my first NBA game, he was 11 years old. When my dad passed, I pretty much raised him. He\u2019s able to be on the team and suit up and chase an opportunity to be great. And you really think that I don\u2019t want to suit up and play with my brother? Anybody that thinks that is an idiot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bucks were eliminated from postseason contention with their loss to the San Antonio Spurs on March 28, Antetokounmpo\u2019s sixth consecutive game on the injured list, and are guaranteed a lottery pick. The Bucks\u2019 selection is tied up in a swap with the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans, with the Bucks receiving the second-highest draft pick among those teams.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDo I understand the circumstances? Yes,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to make the playoffs \u2026 For some people\u2019s eyes, it\u2019s not worth it for me to be out there. But for me, it\u2019s something that goes against my nature, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The 2025-26 season has been a trying time for Antetokounmpo and the organization. As the Bucks struggled for the first time in several seasons, including their NBA championship-winning\u00a0 campaign in 2021, tensions between Antetokounmpo and the organization began to grow. The Bucks even considered trade offers for their star player<\/a> in the lead-up to this year\u2019s deadline before electing to revisit the situation in the summer.<\/p>\n

While Antetokounmpo did not deny his growing friction with the organization, he insisted that this latest disagreement does not necessarily mean the two sides are heading toward a divorce, leaning heavily on a marriage metaphor when offering an explanation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gotta go into couples therapy,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cGo, consultation, couples therapy, sit down, you know, tell their side, I\u2019m going to tell my side and find a solution. Amicably. Right? That\u2019s the word. Find a solution together.\u201d<\/p>\n

A solution together would require the organization putting together a roster to convince Antetokounmpo he can still contend for a championship in Milwaukee next season. Antetokounmpo is eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million extension on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n

But as Antetokounmpo was quick to note throughout Friday\u2019s discussion, he and the organization are \u201cdefinitely, definitely not on the same page\u201d right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you telling me? The next time I\u2019m going to be play basketball is October? Why? I don\u2019t want to do that. I don\u2019t,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cI want to play basketball. I was born to play basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been here 13 years and I understand the team gets eliminated from the playoffs, be smart. Taking care of your body, being in and out, just to be careful, to prepare for the next season, prepare for the next generation and the young players to get some minutes, go out there \u2014 I get that. But that wasn\u2019t the time that this took place. That\u2019s what bothers me. It\u2019s almost like you waved the white flag and I don\u2019t do that. I am sorry. I don\u2019t. And I never, never will.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MILWAUKEE \u2014 Calling it \u201cagainst my nature\u201d to sit out games, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo insisted he is healthy enough to play but is being held out by the only team he has represented in his 13-year NBA career. A league investigation into the matter, as first reported by The Athletic, is ongoing. Advertisement \u201cYou […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1864760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1864760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1864760\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1864760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1864760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1864760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}