Brutal honesty.
That appears to be the start of the Milwaukee Bucks’ new identity after a dominant win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo returned after an eight-game absence and made many statements during his heavily anticipated return.
29 points in under 25 minutes— and a dunk that Nikola Vucevic, Coby White and the few remaining Bulls fans in the United Center took exception to.
https://twitter.com/BucksLead/status/2005119404741460321
Giannis’ Quote of the Season
Giannis didn’t mince words when talking about the current state of the Bucks.
“Are we 11th in the East or 12th? We just gotta keep finding our identity. If we need to get a little scrappy at the end, so be it. We’re not the champs. Why should we have ‘play the clock out and have respect and fair play’, like we’re fighting for our lives right now.”
His message was crystal clear.
“This is real talk. I’ve been 13 years in the league. If we keep on losing brother, probably half of the team won’t be here, we’re not going to make the playoffs. I really don’t care. I just want to be available, be healthy and help my team win. And if [the windmill dunk] is what has to happen for everyone to wake up and understand we are fighting for our lives and we gotta get our hands dirty, then so be it.”
This was an eerily similar (but much more thought-out) mindset to Joe Mazzulla’s “win or die” quote.
The Bucks needed a jolt after going 2-6 in The Greek Freak’s absence— and not just a “hey guys I’m back, we’re good” jolt.
We’ve all wondered ‘what if’ since the 2022 Eastern Conference Semis. Giannis has had enough of losing. Fans have had enough of losing. The team and front office have surely had enough of losing. ESPN has tried — and failed continuously — to use that for their agenda of pushing him out.
It was time for something new.
Jolt injected. Benches cleared. For the first time, a wall Giannis loved to see.
https://twitter.com/BucksLead/status/2005127986887180319
Ryan Rollins ‘Loved’ It
Most Improved Player candidate Ryan Rollins loved every second of it.
“Set the tone. I love it. I love him doing that. I’m not mad at it at all. I love even after the fact too when [the Bulls] tried to press him, our whole team came out and we backed up Gianni so, I love it man.”
While Giannis will remain on a 25-minute restriction for “5 to 10 games”, it’s been clear his entire career that he doesn’t need much to impact a game.
ESPN Fails To Bait Giannis Into a Quote
Giannis has always been very introspective with the media. It is easily one of his top qualities.
Which is why the response to the “do you want to be here?” question from ESPN’s Jamal Collier was perhaps the most satisfying quote of the night:
“I’m here. I’m here. I’m here. Don’t ask me that question. I’m here. It’s disrespectful towards myself and my teammates. I wear that jersey every single day. Disrespectful towards the organization, my coaching staff and all of 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 going to give everything I have, even in the last second of the game.”
The Bucks’ road trip concludes Monday night in Charlotte.
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