Giannis Antetokounmpo was taken aback by Jaylen Brown’s comments following the Boston Celtics’ 113-107 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday at Fiserv Forum. Brown called Antetokounpo a child for faking a handshake after elbowing him in the head and the latter had an interesting reaction when informed about it postgame.
“Oh, that’s what he said? Dang… He said I was a child,” Antetokounmpo said. “… I thought that I gave him a compliment… But at the same time, this is who I am. I play the game with fun, joy. I try to surround myself around young people so I can stay young myself.
“I try to be around my kids a lot, my nieces, and sometimes when I go out there on the court, I play, do stuff like that,” Antetokounmpo continued. “But, as I said, I think he’s an incredible player. He always does the right thing to help his team win but I am just going to continue to be me. At the end of the day if I’m called a child, then so be it… If I have another opportunity, I’ll do it again.”
Well, I don’t think Brown will fall for it next time. I get that Antetokounmpo was just having some fun, but the timing wasn’t great. He had just elbowed Brown as mentioned earlier and to then fake him out in that manner wasn’t a good look.
I am a bit surprised that Antetokounmpo didn’t expect Brown to take offense to it. I think many in the Celtics star’s position would have. Prior to being informed about Brown’s comment, Antetokounmpo was asked about his perspective on the incident and it was clear he didn’t have the faintest idea that he offended Brown with it.
“Obviously, it’s a joke,” Antetokounmpo said. “We’re playing basketball (but) at the same time you gotta have fun while playing. I think he’s (an) incredible player. He does whatever he can to help his team win. Extremely competitive player. We played against one another many times, we always kind of joke around within the flow of the game.
“It’s something I do to my kids,” Antetokounmpo added. “I play around, sometimes like, ‘Give me (a) high-five. Nope, you’re too slow.’ I just did it. I kind of enjoyed it, though. It was fun.”
While Antetokounmpo enjoyed that moment, he certainly didn’t enjoy losing to the Celtics yet again. The 29-year-old gave his all in the contest, finishing with 43 points (18-29 FG), 13 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks but wasn’t able to prevent the Bucks from losing this one.
Antetokounmpo didn’t get much help from his co-star Damian Lillard or their supporting cast here. No Bucks player apart from the Greek superstar scored over 15 points and you’re not going to beat a team like the Celtics when that happens.
Brown, meanwhile, didn’t play all that well against the Bucks. He had just 14 points (4-13 FG), five rebounds, and four assists, but the likes of Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White ensured that didn’t cost the Celtics the game. They have now improved to 9-2 on the season and remain within touching distance of the 11-0 Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Bucks, on the other hand, have now dropped to 2-8 and are 14th in the standings in the Eastern Conference. It has been a wretched start to the season but I do believe they will eventually turn things around. The Bucks will take on the Toronto Raptors next at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday at 8 PM ET, in what will be their first game of the In-Season Tournament.
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