Giannis Antetokounmpo remained silent in the past month after Gilbert Arenas decided to criticize him out of nowhere. The 2x NBA MVP has been one of the best players in the league for a while now, even getting the top spot on ESPN’s top 100 list for the 2022-23 season.
Well, Gilbert explained a couple of times why he doesn’t think Giannis is a good basketball player or even understands the game. Many people came to Giannis’ defense, including analysts and players, who attacked Gilbert for going against Giannis without a good reason.
“I can look at his game and say he doesn’t understand basketball yet. He plays the sport, he won a championship, cool! But he doesn’t understand how to be better, how to train his body. To be at the top, you have to train your body at least 38 minutes and above. LeBron played 37 minutes at 37. Allen Iverson was playing 43 minutes”, he said.
Antetokounmpo is as humble as they come, but that doesn’t mean he was a little bothered by these comments. Truth to his style, he said that the bad comments only motivate him, but still took a dig at Arenas for being ‘bitter’ about Giannis’ big moment.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Has Big Response To Gilbert Arenas
The NBA preseason is underway right now, and many players have had the chance to address some of the things that happened in the summer and were undisclosed until now. Arenas’ criticism was one of those topics, and Giannis had a blunt response to that.
“Does it bother me? I’m not going to lie, it makes me want to work harder,” Giannis said, via Drake Bentley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Do I go back home and think about it and I can’t sleep? Not necessarily.”
Antetokounmpo couldn’t help but take a little shot at Arenas, calling him ‘bitter’ for seeing somebody in his 20s getting a lot of money and success in the association.
“But at the end of the day, hey, I don’t know, when I am 45 years old, 50 years old, I might be, you know, a little bit bitter, too. I might be seeing, you know, this 20-year-old making, signing a three-year 900 million,” he said. “… Maybe, I don’t know, but I don’t think so.”
The Greek Freak is happy with his life, and it’s pretty clear he’s content with the things he’s achieved so far and is looking to add more to his already impressive resume.
“I’m grateful for everything that God has blessed me with, for my kids, for my brothers, for my family, for my father, you know, for my son and the people I work with. I’m grateful for it. And I don’t think I’m going to be like that,” Giannis said.
Giannis is entering a new NBA season where he’ll try to bounce back following a tough loss against the Boston Celtics last campaign. The former back-to-back MVP is always trying to motivate himself, and Arenas’ comments will help him. The Bucks are one of the championship favorites ahead of this season, and if he takes it personally, this team will be a lot more dangerous than it already is.
