It was supposed to be a celebration for the Indiana Pacers — a dominant Game 5 win that sealed their place in the next round. But as the buzzer sounded, emotions boiled over. Amid the noise and confetti, Giannis Antetokounmpo found himself in an unexpected clash — not with a player, but with a parent. And later, as he addressed the incident, Giannis opened up about something even more personal: his own mother.

See tonight, the Indiana Pacers sent the Milwaukee Bucks packing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Pacers dominated the Bucks throughout this series. And winning in 5 games was the cherry on top. Perhaps that’s why John Haliburton, the father of Tyrese Haliburton, got overzealous in his celebration, waving a flag with Tyrese’s picture on it in Giannis’ face. That set off the ‘Greek Freak,’ who had a heated exchange with John on-camera.

Later, in the post-game press conference, Giannis explained how families of players shouldn’t overstep their bounds. He used the example of his own mom to get the point across. “I remember when I won, my mom, she’s never missed the games from February eleventh or thirteenth when she came in Milwaukee. I guess the next year, never missed a game. When we won the championship, I remember my mom, she was scared to cross. She was like, ‘Am I allowed to come and hug my son?’,” said Giannis. His point is simple.

If my mom can’t come in to hug me after winning a championship, someone else’s dad can’t come in to rub a loss in my face. After all, it’s important to give players their space when they’ve won and especially when they’ve lost.

But Giannis also revealed the exception to this ground rule. “See, except now my brother does media for this year. He wants to come back and play. But, like, except in that, you’ve never seen my family…This is not something that we do. We don’t. I try to keep my family away from the game,” revealed the ‘Greek Freak’. But it’s wholly understandable why Giannis keeps this attitude.

At the end of the day, the families of the players are there to support them. And tensions will rise when a family member taunts a player right after he loses a series. Knowing all this, Giannis lets his family be a part of this experience in a capacity that he sees as fitting. And as someone who toils in the NBA day in, day out, he gets it better than most. That’s also why you can’t really blame Giannis for what happened tonight.

But just because his dad rubbed him the wrong way, it doesn’t mean Giannis is mad at Tyrese. And in the aftermath of the whole row, Giannis revealed his true feelings about the Pacers star.

Giannis Antetokounmpo praises Tyrese Haliburton while revealing surprising initial thoughts about his dad, John

Charged with emotions and adrenaline after losing the series 4-1, Giannis had no idea who walked on to the court when John Haliburton started the whole thing with him. In fact, the ‘Greek Freak’ believed it to be a fan initially before realizing it was Tyrese’s dad.

“But losing the game, emotions run high, having a fan, which, at the moment, I thought he was a fan…” said Giannis. But soon he realized that it wasn’t a fan who’d walked onto the court, it was Tyrese’s dad, John! Despite the exchange with Haliburton Sr., the veteran forward knows the game of basketball is all about respect.

That may be why Giannis did not hold back in revealing his true opinion on Tyrese Haliburton after the Pacers star helped his team dominate the Bucks throughout the series.

“I love. Tyrese, I think he’s a great competitor,” said the NBA Finals MVP about the Pacers star. And tonight, Tyrese Haliburton lived up to every bit of praise Giannis threw his way. He managed to get 26 points with 9 dimes while also getting 3 crucial steals for his team. Tyrese put in a shift on both ends tonight. And his contributions were invaluable in the Pacers’ win tonight.

At the end of the day, no matter who you support, the Bucks or the Pacers, it’s hard to argue with Giannis’ point. The players are the ones going through everything we see on TV. So, let’s just hope the basketball world gets this message too and we don’t see drama like this anymore!