Giannis Antetokounmpo was livid about the game ball in Bucks win over the Pacers, with some questioning whether it had an impact on his overall likability.
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00:00 Giannis was doing too much about the game ball.
00:02 You know, I'm not gonna be with everybody on social media
00:05 saying all of a sudden he's completely unlikable,
00:07 but, you know, I don't know if he needed to cause that scene.
00:10 - I think he's definitely lost some of his likability.
00:14 One, the free throw line thing became a big issue.
00:18 Like, people were like, "Bro, you're not about to spend
00:19 five minutes at the free throw line."
00:21 I think it also didn't help the fact that
00:23 he's being criticized for not being that skilled of a player
00:26 more just as a physical opponent
00:28 who just runs up and down the court.
00:30 Having James Harn say that didn't help at all.
00:33 And, what makes matters worse,
00:34 he's won a championship now.
00:35 So it's just like you've elevated to a different stratosphere
00:38 where the expectation is like,
00:39 "All right, you've won one, but can you win two?
00:41 Can you win three?
00:42 And can you be an all-time great player?"
00:43 So he's clearly gifted,
00:45 but the charm of the international player
00:48 that kind of just spoke his mind,
00:50 I feel like it's starting to wear off.
00:52 - Well, look, the guy's a monster.
00:53 There, you know, we can talk about skills and everything,
00:55 but that used to be a criticism of Shaq
00:57 back in the day, too.
00:58 And in some ways, Giannis is the modern day version
01:02 of Shaquille O'Neal.
01:03 But, you know, simply doing the dad jokes,
01:06 that standup routine,
01:08 isn't gonna carry his entire reputation,
01:11 you know, going forward.
01:13 - See, I don't even like this Shaq comparison
01:14 because Shaq was still gifted with his skills.
01:17 His footwork was superb.
01:19 Like, what he could do in the post was superb.
01:21 Yes, he was physically gifted to where it didn't matter,
01:23 but he was still a very skilled player.
01:25 Giannis, to me, has still lacked the skillful part
01:28 of his game in a lot of ways.
01:30 But other than that, I just feel like
01:32 it's one of those things,
01:33 like he's no longer the new kid on the block.
01:35 So you've kind of just sat in,
01:36 so it's easier to criticize you as opposed to praise him.
01:40 - But that's a little unfair
01:41 'cause Giannis could handle the rock and drive and kick.
01:44 Shaq couldn't do all that.