Giannis Antetokounmpo excoriates Bucks for sitting him as NBA investigation continues

MILWAUKEE — Calling it “against my nature” to take a seat out video games, Bucks ahead Giannis Antetokounmpo insisted he’s wholesome sufficient to play however is being held out by the one workforce he has represented in his 13-year NBA profession.

A league investigation into the matter, as first reported by TheAthleticis ongoing.

“You know who you are dealing with,” Antetokounmpo stated in an interview with native reporters one hour earlier than Friday’s recreation towards the Boston Celtics. “So for someone to come and tell me not to play or not to compete, it’s like a slap in my face. So, I don’t know where the relationship goes from there.”

The NBA has been trying into Antetokounmpo’s scenario, a supply briefed on the scenario tells TheAthleticand has been engaged in conversations with the Bucks. The National Basketball Players Association previously issued a statement asserting that Antetokounmpo was wholesome and being held from video games as a part of a tanking effort by the Bucks.

“I’ve never seen a case of a player saying, my caliber of player, that’s like — I’m saying it publicly — I want to f–-ing play. You know what I’m saying?” Antetokounmpo stated Friday. “I don’t think I’ve seen this. So, if there needs to be an investigation, great. There should be. I don’t know. There should be. Until we figure something out.”

Antetokounmpo has not performed since hyperextending his left knee within the Bucks’ 134-123 win over the Indiana Pacers on March 15. While the Bucks have listed him out for the final 10 video games with a bone bruise, Antetokounmpo stated Friday that he’s truly wholesome and has been for weeks.

“I’m available to play, but I’m not in the game,” Antetokounmpo stated. “I’m available to play today. Right now. I’m available. Do I look like I’m not available? … I don’t see myself in the first 12. I don’t see myself in the starting lineup.”

“I don’t know what game is being played right here, I just don’t wanna be a part of it.”

As first reported by TheAthleticthe Bucks approached Antetokounmpo about getting shut down for the rest of the season, an concept the franchise’s all-time main scorer firmly rebuffed. On Friday, Antetokounmpo claimed the group has not communicated with him about the potential for returning since that first dialog.

“I had an initial conversation with who I should be talking to, which is coach Doc (Rivers) — let’s just keep it at coach Doc and (general manager) Jon (Horst) — and the initial conversation is that I want to play. And after that I’ve never had a conversation again,” Antetokounmpo stated. “Nobody has ever approached me (about) not playing or whatever the plan is.”

Before talking with native reporters Friday, Antetokounmpo went by means of a full pregame exercise on the Fiserv Forum ground, simply as he has performed almost each recreation since being placed on the injured listing. Dripping with sweat, the 31-year-old ahead punctuated his exercise with a loud windmill dunk earlier than chatting with coaches and teammates, together with each of his brothers, within the courtside seats.

Giannis’ older brother, Thanasis, has been his teammate for six seasons, however his youngest brother, Alex, made his NBA debut and scored his first NBA factors within the Bucks’ 123-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.

“I’ve heard someone say that, ‘Oh, he says that he wants to play, but he doesn’t really want to play,’” Giannis Antetokounmpo stated. “First of all, I don’t know who gives you information like that… you’d be an idiot to have an opportunity to play with your brother that you’re eight years older than him.

“When I played my first NBA game, he was 11 years old. When my dad passed, I pretty much raised him. He’s able to be on the team and suit up and chase an opportunity to be great. And you really think that I don’t want to suit up and play with my brother? Anyone who thinks that is an idiot.”

The Bucks were eliminated from postseason contention with their loss to the San Antonio Spurs on March 28, Antetokounmpo’s sixth consecutive game on the injured list, and are guaranteed a lottery pick. The Bucks’ 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.

“Do I understand the circumstances? Yes,” Antetokounmpo said. “We’re not going to make the playoffs… For some people’s eyes, it’s not worth it for me to be out there. But for me, it’s something that goes against my nature, man.”

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 campaign in 2021, tensions between Antetokounmpo and the organization began to grow. The Bucks even considered trade offers for their star player in the lead-up to this year’s deadline before electing to revisit the situation in the summer.

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.

“We gotta go into couples therapy,” Antetokounmpo stated. “Go, consultation, couples therapy, sit down, you know, tell their side, I’m going to tell my side and find a solution. Amicably. Right? That’s the word. Find a solution together.”

An answer collectively would require the group placing collectively a roster to persuade Antetokounmpo he can nonetheless contend for a championship in Milwaukee subsequent season. Antetokounmpo is eligible to signal a four-year, $275 million extension on Oct. 1.

But as Antetokounmpo was fast to notice all through Friday’s dialogue, he and the group are “definitely, definitely not on the same page” proper now.

“What are you telling me? The next time I’m going to be playing basketball is October? Why? I don’t want to do that. I don’t,” Antetokounmpo stated. “I want to play basketball. I was born to play basketball.

“I’ve been right here 13 years and I perceive the workforce will get eradicated from the playoffs, be good. Taking care of your physique, being out and in, simply to watch out, to arrange for the following season, put together for the following technology and the younger gamers to get some minutes, go on the market — I get that. But that wasn’t the time that this happened. That’s what bothers me. It’s virtually such as you waved the white flag and I do not try this. I’m sorry. I do not. And I by no means, by no means will.”