‘I’m tired of the disrespect’

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With his Milwaukee Bucks at home for the second round of the playoffs and his name absent from the NBA’s All-Defensive teams, Giannis Antetokounmpo has a message. He’s “tired of the disrespect.”

His words, delivered Tuesday via Twitter alongside a photo of his glaring self engulfed in Bucks green with a vow: “I’m coming.”

That’s it. There’s no context. No quote. No link to a critical story. No explanation of whom or what he’s coming for. While the specific target of the message is left open for interpretation, the broad strokes are clear.

Antetokounmpo is stocking up on motivational fuel.

Take, for instance, Tuesday’s announcement of the NBA’s All-Defensive teams that featured big men Jaren Jackson Jr., Evan Mobley, Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green and Bucks teammate Brook Lopez. But no Antetokounmpo, a former Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Defensive team member.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had another message for critics after being left off the NBA’s All-Defensive teams. (Christopher Creveling/Reuters)

Antetokounmpo — in the prime of his career and coming off an MVP finalist season — remains an elite NBA defender. But his absence from the NBA’s All-Defensive teams was not glaring. While he was an anchor for a Bucks unit that led the NBA in defensive rating, he also averaged career lows in both blocks (0.8) and steals (0.8) per game.

Lopez, meanwhile, led the league in total blocks, and voters acknowledged Milwaukee’s defensive dominance by naming him and point guard Jrue Holiday to the All-Defensive teams. That they found other big men around the league more deserving than Antetokounmpo is a potential perceived slight but not an actual one.

Tuesday’s was not the first postseason awards snub that could fuel Antetokounmpo’s fire. While he was honored as an MVP finalist, Antetokounmpo was largely an afterthought in a conversation that centered around Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokić. In the end, Antetokounmpo (12 first-place votes) finished a distant third to Embiid, who secured his first MVP with 73 first-place votes.

Story continues

But perhaps more than anything, the response to Milwaukee’s first-round playoff…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2023-05-09 22:54:10

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