Giannis Antetokounmpo has heard plenty of boos throughout his career with the Milwaukee Bucks; it’s something that comes naturally with being the star player, scoring in bunches at his opponent’s expense. However, tonight, he faced an unfamiliar circumstance: Fiserv Forum was booing him and his teammates.

Against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Bucks suffered a 33-point loss. At multiple points throughout the game, fans loudly booed, prompting Antetokounmpo to return the favor after an and-one in a physical contest, with two thumbs pointed directly at the people in the stands. After the game, he commented on it directly.

“I thrive through adversity,” he told reporters. “I’ve never been a part of something like that before. So, it’s something new for me. I like it though. I love it.”

The response wasn’t anger or deflection, but a sense of defiance, especially because the gesture was something he has pointed at opposing fanbases throughout this year. Antetokounmpo also insisted that the setting didn’t matter, whether it was home, road, practice, or even “family dinner,” he was going to be that same defiant self.

Giannis didn’t pretend otherwise when asked about the Bucks’ recent woes. The team is currently 17-23, #11 in the East, far off from the usual highs of Eastern Conference contention that the team has been used to for all of the 2020s.

“Playing hard. Playing it our way. Playing selfless basketball,” Antetokounmpo told reporters after the Wolves game when asked about what needs to change. “Those three things are important. I know that they’re important for [us] to win, but right now there’s so many things that we can do better.”

The team missed Myles Turner tonight, but lost to a shorthanded Timberwolves team missing their best scorer in Anthony Edwards and defensive anchor in Rudy Gobert. Antetokounmpo tried his best, logging 25 points on 9-13 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists, but it wasn’t enough to make a difference.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Admits the Message Isn’t Getting Through to the Bucks

After plainly laying out the formula for success,  Giannis Antetokounmpo openly questioned why the Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t follow the basics of success. Instead of stating the usual cliches that players will often state, he pointed at how the team knows what winning looks like, but refuses to execute it, failing the basics before even getting to schemes.

He acknowledged that they didn’t play with effort, connectivity, or create advantages for teammates, something that came naturally to the Bucks just a few years ago, when they won the championship. Then came the biggest admission of them all.

“Maybe my voice is just a broken record and guys are just tired,” Antetokounmpo told reporters. “Being a leader is same thing as being a dad, you just got to keep on being available, being consistent with your words and your actions over, and over, and over again. And one day, you hope that the message’s going to go through.”

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The problem is that the Bucks don’t have years. They’re already halfway through the season, and like the Greek forward said, it’s “now or never.” If the tone-setter of the franchise is openly wondering if he still holds the attention of the team, the issue isn’t how loud he’s saying it, but the connection between the superstar and the franchise.