Giannis Antetokounmpo on his windmill dunk, postgame shoving vs. Bulls
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ryan Rollins and Bobby Portis Jr. spoke on Antetokounmpo’s windmill dunk and postgame shoving vs. Bulls
CHICAGO – Giannis Antetokounmpo punctuated his return to the court with a ferocious, open court windmill dunk with 1.9 seconds left in a 112-103 Milwaukee Bucks victory over the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 27 at the United Center, an action that immediately caught the ire of Chicago center Nikola Vučević and guard Coby White.
The pair immediately went to Antetokounmpo and began talking to him, and shortly after the buzzer sounded both teams, coaches and security personnel were on the court to prevent some pushing and shoving from escalating further.
Vučević, a 15-year veteran and former all-star, said after the game he wanted to know why Antetokounmpo would break an unwritten rule in a game that was over, which is something White said he also wanted to know because they had never seen Antetokounmpo perform such a theatric late in a clear victory.
The Bulls players said Antetokounmpo didn’t say anything to them, but in the visiting locker room afterward the Bucks star said the moment was largely symbolic for his struggling team.
When asked why he completed the dunk, Antetokounmpo had a question in response.
“What, we 11th in the East? Are we 11th in the East or 12th? Eleventh? We just gotta keep finding our identity,” he said matter-of-factly.
“And if that’s to get a little bit of, you know, scrappy at the end, so be it. Like, we’re not the champs. Why should we have like, 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 brother it’s probably half of the team not gonna be here. We’re not going to make the playoffs (in 11th). Like, I really don’t care.
“At the end of the day, I just want to be available and healthy and help my team win and if that’s what has to happen for them to; for everybody to wake up and understand we’re fighting for our lives and we gotta get our hands dirty, so be it.”
Speaking at roughly the same time in the other locker room, the Bulls players were left to guess at the intent.
“I ain’t never really seen him do it either,” White said. “So I don’t really know. I guess he got out of character for a moment.”
As for his teammates, naturally they rallied around Antetokounmpo much like they did on the court.
“He set the tone, so I’m not mad at it at all,” guard Ryan Rollins said with a grin. “Then I love even after the fact too when everybody tried to press him our whole team came out and backed up Giannis. So, I love it, man.”
Bobby Portis Jr., a former Bull who often is cheered upon his return to the United Center, was one of the more heated Bucks players and was booed roundly as he walked off the court.
“I like a little confrontation,” he said with a grin. “You know I like a little confrontation. So, we’re not shying away from it. I think he said he wants to be a villain, so I guess I’m right there with him. We all right there with him. Follow his lead, man. We just here to get better each and every day and just stack wins. Stack confidence, stack good habits, and like I said when you look up you’ll be .500 and you go from there.”
Vučević maintained that he didn’t care for the fact that Antetokounmpo didn’t dribble out the clock, but he then used a bit of humor to perhaps explain the action.
“Usually when the game is kind of over, with a couple seconds you just dribble the ball out,” he said. “I assume Giannis was mad at that report that came out that the Bulls didn’t want to trade for him so just wanted to prove a point and that was that.”
It was a deadpan answer from the 35-year-old, but back in the Bucks locker room Antetokounmpo was asked again about his happiness with the only team he’s played for following a rough start.
It was his first postgame media availability since Nov. 29. He skipped an opportunity in Washington D.C. on Dec. 1 and then was injured on Dec. 3. He spoke on Dec. 18 for an update on his calf strain, but also addressed multiple reports that he and his representation had spoken with the Bucks front office about his immediate and long-term future with the team.
“I’m here,” he said in Chicago. “I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. It’s disrespectful toward myself and my teammate. I wear that jersey every single day. Disrespectful towards the organization, my coaching staff, myself and all the people that work out 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 going to give everything I have, even if in the last second of the game.”