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USA Today via Reuters

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USA Today via Reuters

The NBA pre-season is well underway, and fans can see their favorite players in action again. With a few changes during the off-season, several players made their debut with new teams around the league. But the latest scenario that fans are buzzing over is a play made by Giannis Antetokounmpo against Kyrie Irving.?

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The Milwaukee Bucks faced the Brooklyn Nets in a pre-season game on Thursday. While the Nets came out on top, fans were more eager to speculate over the fact that Giannis Antetokounmpo resorted to a supposed ‘dirty’ play on the floor.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo with a history of such plays

During the game, as Irving brought the ball up the floor, he performed a between-the-legs move to split the defenders on the court. Irving was being defended by Jrue Holiday. But he moved away from Holiday to beat him off the ball and came across Giannis.?

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USA Today via Reuters

And while Giannis wasn?t the on-ball defender, he came over to help defense and seemingly extended his leg to throw Irving off his rhythm. The play resulted in Irving losing his handle on the ball and a subsequent turnover for the Brooklyn Nets.

Read More – ?The League?s Really in Trouble?: Kevin Durant Joins the Chorus After Giannis Antetokounmpo?s ?Never Seen Before? Remarks for 7?4? Wonderkid Victor Wembanyama

The referee didn?t call the play and the game went on. However, there is rarely anything that is hidden from the eyes of fans. And one fan went on to Twitter to upload the play by Giannis Antetokounmpo, and fans lashed out after seeing Antetokounmpo’s action on the floor.?

Here are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:

https://twitter.com/00Jets/status/1580377698752290816?s=20&t=HQn0IDcnVuZWo-eOivTgMA

A fan tweeted, ?I’m tellin’ y?all he hurt that man on purpose in that series.? Here, the fan is referring to the injury Irving suffered during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in the 2021 NBA Playoffs.?

Fans recall Game 4 between the Nets and Bucks

This is not the first time Giannis has been called out for a play on the floor. Many a time, fans and even players have noticed Antetokounmpo not leaving any space for the defenders as they land after taking a jump shot.?

The apparent injury caused by Antetokounmpo in Game 4 to Kyrie Irving led him to miss out on the remainder of that game and, notably, the rest of the series as well.

Watch This Story – How Giannis Antetokounmpo’s talents were discovered and why he once wanted to leave the NBA

Do you think it was a ‘dirty’ play by Giannis Antetokounmpo on Kyrie Irving? ?Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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Abhishek Dhariwal

1,425 Articles

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best” - Tim Duncan said this once, and I took it as a sign to keep working on myself, without fail! Being a basketball player all my life, it was natural for me to eventually become an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. Being a Spurs fan, I fell in love with Duncan and McGrady for making me the fan I am today. Their dedication to their field inspired me to never give up, despite my knee surgeries. Today, as an NBA writer, I get to share my unique perspectives with the world. The fact that I actually get to write about the things that I love, especially while getting to watch them live, it something I love about my job. With San Antonio landing a cornerstone for their franchise in Wembanyama, make sure you are paying close attention to Spurs-based pieces. When I am not knee-deep into all things basketball, I am gaming. I love PUBG, NBA2K and Forza Horizon. Want to have a spirited debate on my articles? Hit me up on the links below.

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Veer Badani

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