Giannis Antetokounmpo made his long-awaited return to the Milwaukee Bucks’ lineup on Saturday night, and he caused a bit of chaos at the United Center in the process.
Antetokounmpo dropped 29 points and had eight rebounds in the Bucks’ 112-103 win over the Chicago Bulls. He shot 10-of-15 from the field, too.
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But Antetokounmpo’s final points ended up being his most notable, as he threw down a windmill dunk in the final seconds of the game, when the Bucks had a seven-point lead. A couple of Bulls players took exception to Antetokounmpo’s exclamation point, as the Bucks star had words with Nikola Vučević after the buzzer. Coby White then got involved.
“He shouldn’t have dunked the ball,” White said after the game, via CHSN’s K.C. Johnson. “It’s disrespectful to the game. I said, ‘Bro, you’re better than that.’ The game is over with. Why you gotta do that? It’s a respect thing.”
But Antetokounmpo, with the current state of the Bucks, isn’t worried about respect.
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“What, we’re 11th in the East? … Just gotta keep finding our identity,” he said, via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. “And if that is to get a little bit of scrappy at the end, so be it. Like, we’re not the champs. Why should we play the clock out and have respect and fair play? Like, we’re fighting for our lives right now.”
He also posted a photo of the dunk on social media on Saturday night.
Antetokounmpo had been out since Dec. 3 with a right calf strain, when he dropped to the floor with a non-contact injury during the opening quarter of the Bucks’ Dec. 3 win over the Detroit Pistons. After limping to the locker room, he was eventually ruled out due to a soleus strain, the same injury that caused his 2023-24 season to come to a premature end.
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The Bucks went 2-6 in Antetokounmpo’s absence and are 13-19 overall on the season. That puts them 11th in the Eastern Conference, chasing the Bulls and Atlanta Hawks for a play-in spot, and five games behind the Orlando Magic for the eighth seed.
Entering Saturday, the 30-year-old Antetokounmpo was averaging 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
Antetokounmpo’s injury, coupled with his contract status, has also caused the rumor mill to heat up while he’s been out. After inking a three-year extension with Milwaukee in 2023, he still has a year and a half remaining on his current deal before he can opt out.
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After a report came out that the former MVP was talking to the team about his future with the franchise, Antetokounmpo denied any role in the talks and indicated his agent was handling them without his input.
While there would be a large market interested in acquiring his services, Antetokounmpo has been focused on his health and pushing the Bucks back into winning ways.
“I’m still locked in, locked in on my teammates. Most importantly, locked in on me getting back healthy,” Antetokounmpo said on Dec. 18. “And then, locked in on my teammates and how can I help them from the sideline or encourage them to be able to play and play free?
“Because at the end of the day, it takes a toll on them, too, right? They’re playing game after game after game. Thank God we’ve had a very good schedule in the last couple of weeks, but it takes a toll on them, too — rumors, injuries, lose, win. It’s hard, right? As a leader, but most importantly as a winner, you just gotta be there for them first.”
