Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers recently by 8 points. The two-time MVP made just four out of the 15 free throws he had. Following the loss, a frustrated Antetokounmpo was on the floor practicing his free throws. This led to an incident with the 76ers’ backup center Montrezl Harrell and an arena employee. Antetokounmpo later spoke to the media about this situation. His justification left NBA Twitter divided. 

As the video of the incident made its rounds online, Antetokounmpo was seen pushing a ladder out of the way which was first put back by a 76ers staff member. The ‘Greek Freak’ then pushed the ladder, causing it to fall over. However, he believes that he was not in the wrong as the ladder simply fell. He stated that he was trying to work on his skills after a disappointing night. He said, “I don’t know if I should apologize.”

Antetokounmpo mentioned that he makes an active effort not to disrespect anyone. For him, the incident was an unfortunate occurrence. He said, “I think people did not respect the fact that sometimes players want to get some extra work in.” Following this, fans started expressing their point of view. However, there was a clear divide among fans. 

NBA Twitter divided over Giannis Antetokounmpo 

Those in favor of Antetokounmpo stated that late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Byrant would have done something similar if he had a bad game. “Kobe the goat would have done the same”, said one tweet. These fans called for people to “put some respect on Giannis’ name.” 

Here are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:

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However, some believed that Antetokounmpo was overall being disrespectful. They claimed Antetokounmpo was portraying bratty behavior. These fans urged the league to take action against the NBA champion.

The incident that took place

According to the report on The Athletic, Antetokounmpo stated that Montrezl Harrell took the ball away from him and asked him to leave the floor. Harrell shouted, “This isn’t f*****g Milwaukee.” After this, an arena employee placed a ladder in front of the basketball.

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Furthermore, Antetokounmpo explained that the employee refused to move the ladder, so he did it himself. While doing so, the ladder fell. 

Following this, Milwaukee Bucks‘ power forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Giannis’ brother, had a verbal altercation with Harrell. After this altercation ended, Harrell took to Twitter to give his side of the story.

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What is your take on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s justification? Who do you think was wrong in the incident that took place? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.