After missing 8 games, Giannis Antetokounmpo is back and how. The Greek Freak is part of the game-day headlines again. It’s not because of his game-high 29 points and eight rebounds, but for his windmill dunk at the end of the game, which led to a brawl between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls. Naturally, the Bulls players took offense to it; however, Giannis was clear about his actions.

“I really don’t care,” Antetokounmpo said after his ferocious, open-court windmill dunk with 1.9 seconds left in a 112-103 Milwaukee Bucks victory. The game was well in hand, and usually the winning team just keeps possession and lets time run out.

That’s why Chicago center Nikola Vučević and guard Coby White immediately went to Antetokounmpo and began talking to him. Coaches and security personnel were on the court to prevent the situation from escalating further. When the dust settled, the Bucks superstar wanted to set the right example.

“We’re 11th in the East,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “Got to keep finding an identity. If that’s to get a little bit scrappy at the end, so be it. We’re not the champs. Why should we play the clock out, have respect, and fair play? We’re fighting for our lives right now. I’ve been 13 years in the league. If we keep on losing, probably half of the team is not going to be here. We’re not going to make the playoffs.”

He again emphasized, “Like, I really don’t care at the end of the day. I just want to be available, be healthy, and help my team win. And if that’s [windmill dunk] what has to happen for everybody to wake up and understand, like we fight for our lives and we got to get our hands there, so be it.”

In his absence, Milwaukee struggled massively, dropping to 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 12-19 record. Before his injury, the Bucks were 10-7 this season, which is significantly better than the 2-12 record without him.

Even against the Bulls, he was on a minutes restriction, but was dominant as ever. The Greek Freak played just under 25 minutes in his return after missing eight games with a calf strain. That’s why he wanted to lead by example and not let his team be comfortable even in the closing stages, despite their lead.

His teammates understood the assignment and stuck by their leader. “He set the tone, so I’m not mad at it at all,” guard Ryan Rollins said with a grin. Even former Bulls star and now teammate of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis Jr., echoed the sentiment.

“We’re all right there with him. Follow his lead, man. We are just here to get better each and every day and just stack wins. Stack confidence, stack good habits, and like I said, when you look up, you’ll be .500, and you go from there.” The Greek Freak even got on social media soon after the game with a new post.

On the other hand, the Bulls players understandably had a different opinion.

Bulls players did not appreciate Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dunk

Antetokounmpo’s windmill slam dominated the post-game questions. Chicago guard Coby White called the play “disrespectful.” White also said he had never seen Antetokounmpo perform such a theatric late in a clear victory. “I ain’t never really seen him do it either,” White said. “So I don’t really know. I guess he got out of character for a moment.”

The Greek Freak’s decision surprised even Vučević, a 15-year veteran and former All-Star. He wanted to know why Antetokounmpo would break an unwritten rule in a game that was over. The 35-year-old used humor to express himself. “Usually when the game is kind of over, with a couple of seconds you just dribble the ball out,” he said. “I assume Giannis was mad at that report that came out that the Bulls didn’t want to trade for him, so just wanted to prove a point, and that was that.”

While Giannis Antetokounmpo only wanted to fire his teammates up, this led to the opponents being fired up. Despite his future still being uncertain, the 2x MVP still wants to lead the franchise the right way.

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