The Milwaukee Bucks vanquished a depleted Los Angeles Lakers squad 118-89 last night. One moment stood out when Giannis Antetokounmpo had the ball and was attacking the Lakers basket. The Greek Freak seemed to pick up the ball and carry it briefly, right in front of the referee but didn’t get called for a travel. The Lakers bench, including LeBron James and Luka Doncic, all stood up infuriated by the no-call.
I’ve never seen the entire bench so disgusted in my life pic.twitter.com/Rz3WPal5jE
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) March 21, 2025
The Lakers bench was right to be upset about what was a pretty clear carry from Antetokounmpo. On top of that, Giannis used his hip movement to bump into Jordan Goodwin, which could be considered an offensive foul. However, that bump is far less egregious than him palming and carrying the ball, albeit briefly, to protect it from a Lakers defender.
Antetokounmpo has made it a habit of sorts to bend the rules in his favor during his career. The two-time MVP has earned a bit of a reputation as a dirty player, whether that be for his physicality that ends up causing injuries to opposing players, or him manipulating long-established rules in basketball without facing any consequence for either of them.
Many believe that Giannis’ friendly and affable personality off the court allows him to get away with certain practices on the court that other players just wouldn’t be able to. You can discount last night’s no-call as an outlier, but the evidence has stacked up over the years against Giannis, and it’s hard to chalk up all of his indiscretions going unpunished to just human error on the part of the referees.
Of course, not all fans will agree with this assessment, especially Milwaukee Bucks supporters. But there is enough smoke here to justify the existence of a fire burning against Antetokounmpo. Many fans across the NBA are getting tired of the Bucks superstar not being held to the same standard as other players in the league.
This wasn’t the only incident in which Giannis seemed to get lucky with a missed call. During Bronny James‘ 17-point outing, at one point, he drove to the basket after winning his match-up against Antetokounmpo and leaving him behind. However, Giannis decided to grab Bronny’s arm as he drove up to the basket. The referee didn’t call it a foul against the Greek Freak then, either.
REFS SAVING GIANNIS FROM BRONNY 😭 pic.twitter.com/HF3S6YlajY
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 21, 2025
Despite his incidents, the former NBA champion did have a good game, putting up 28 points (9-15 FG), seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block. Granted, his strong numbers are coming against a depleted Lakers squad missing LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves, but that’s not on him. On any given night, you can only try and beat the opposition in front of you.
This win helps the Bucks inch closer to the 40-win mark for the season, as they now sit fifth in the East with a 39-30 record. They have been utterly mediocre this season, despite Giannis being second in the league in points per game. Given how they’ve played, it’s hard to see them finding success in the playoffs against a tough Eastern Conference field.
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