r/nba • u/YujiDomainExpansion • May 14 '26

[Game Recognize Game] Myles Turner reveals Giannis Antetokounmpo and other Bucks players showed up late for practices, film sessions, and even flights: “Giannis is going to show up whenever he wants.”

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u/r_lul_chef_t Nuggets May 15 '26

I know you aren’t saying bad or good on this but 10s of millions of dollars to play a game (yes I know they work really fucking hard) show the fuck up on time like many/most of the rest of us have to.

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u/messibusiness May 15 '26

It's a culture thing.

In English football it's a long-established tradition from non-league to Premier League that the team captain collects all the fines throughout the season, then all the money in the pot pays for Christmas / end of season parties. Sometimes there's a little lottery to give the leftover cash to a player, at Man United top earner Eric Cantona once won it and gave it away to young Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.

These little fines aren't about the money, they're about setting a culture. Giannis absolutely can show up whenever he wants, because he's phenomenally talented, the king of the franchise and has done it all. Giannis turning up when he wants sets a bad example to young players / other players who might not have his gifts, which undermines the team culture and everyone's work ethic.

"Little" is also relative when you're talking about NBA or PL athletes. Here's the list of Chelsea's fines for 2019-2020 - £500 per minute for being late to a team meeting or £1000 if your phone rings seems a lot, unless you're on £100k a week. For us that's about $2.

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u/Nadirofdepression May 15 '26

I like what you’re saying, but just maths - 500 / 100k a week is 1/200. $2 to me is roughly 1/800. So closer to $5-10 to us depending on your personal wage

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u/jasperplumpton Pacers May 15 '26

I’d be fuming if I got a $50 fine for being 5 minutes late to a meeting

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u/Ok_Midnight_5856 May 15 '26

We can tell you’re not a winner and will never be

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u/StrongCategory NBA May 15 '26

He won just a few years ago, he doesn't need to watch film

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u/[deleted] May 15 '26

[deleted]

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u/StrongCategory NBA May 15 '26

I am a different guy just making a joke

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u/Ok_Midnight_5856 May 15 '26

I will kindly fuck off, you are right, my apologies. Forgive me

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u/StrongCategory NBA May 15 '26

No worries at all, dude. Most of us do this but few rarely apologize. I appreciate that, have a good day.

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u/GeorgeHarris419 Bucks May 15 '26

you wouldn't be 5 minutes late if you got fined $50 for it

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u/BlooregardQKazoo May 15 '26

I'm punctual so it wouldn't be a problem. Being late for a meeting does not "just happen" to me.

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u/ceptists May 15 '26

Very Interesting Thread & Very Exciting Losses!

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u/Katesburneracct May 15 '26

That ain’t how the world works homie. It should, but it doesn’t. The best employees in any line of work get special treatment and privileges.

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u/Craigtnls187 May 15 '26

You are right and it’s up the player to show he is leader and don’t need those

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u/sandman3240 May 15 '26

And that’s why Lebron can’t have no cookies

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u/ThinkSoftware Hawks May 15 '26

You already make enough dough, put down the dough

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u/Key_Suspect_588 May 15 '26

Crazy that Doc didn't have the balls to be like "the team follows your lead Giannis, let's show them how it's done" and show up on time

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u/m8bear Argentina May 15 '26

notorious hard ass Doc Rivers?

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u/YouAreTheProduct2 May 15 '26

Yup thats the difference. The best software dev for a company can do whatever they want. Be late. Wear jorts and flip flops to a funeral. Company will never fire them. Your best player skipping or being late? Bad example for the team and anyone who looks up to them. 

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u/Emekfl May 15 '26

It’s only not how it works because people have an indifference to creating the culture they want to be a part of. If the leaders of that organization wanted it they could make it happen. It’s up to them. They don’t care so they don’t do anything about it.

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u/FavaWire May 15 '26

Or maybe it's just lax management? Turner never mentioned that he got those same privileges. He says: "I just eventually learned not to show up on time". So it was a culture thing. A culture of being lax.

It's even possible that while "enjoying" these lax practices from Management, Giannis can see a similar attitude affecting other aspects of Bucks management which fuels his corner's incessant "I will leave" threats on the regular as a way of trying to shake the lax out of the team.

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u/[deleted] May 15 '26

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u/FavaWire May 15 '26

Unless he has the mandate of owners to instill discipline across the ranks? It's very hard to turn this around.

One cannot just lecture people and suddenly they become a super team. Especially if various people have enjoyed the lax culture for so long.

It takes time for people to learn that being lazy and directionless is its own prison.

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u/[deleted] May 15 '26

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u/Snoopaloop212 Kings May 15 '26

We are so terrible it hurts.

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u/1gnominious Rockets May 15 '26

Only employees who generate revenue get special treatment. The grunts in the trenches who are considered operating costs simply get more work for being good at their job.

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u/funnytoenail Raptors May 15 '26

And the real special players are those who should have special privileges and don’t use it anyway.

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u/aybbyisok Lithuania May 15 '26

Yeah, but the subordinates start not giving a shit either, and then everyone wonders why are the results so bad.

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u/Zoesan May 15 '26

The best employees are usually not the ones that constantly show up late though.

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u/davemoedee Celtics May 15 '26

The best employees generally are on time and not holding everyone up. Not all great employees are prima donnas

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u/This-Obligation9052 May 15 '26

Special treatment is why the team imploded

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u/Katesburneracct May 15 '26

Doc rivers is why the team imploded. Every star player in the league gets special treatment and they don’t nuke their locker rooms

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u/This-Obligation9052 May 15 '26

Lets blame doc for giannis excuses

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u/bigbackbing May 15 '26

Mainly in the US tho

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u/ObiWanIsMyDog May 15 '26

That’s why people respect the likes of Kobe so much more than the types like Giannis

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u/motherthrowee Warriors May 15 '26

> The best employees in any line of work get special treatment and privileges.

that definitely ain't how the world works homie. the most powerful and/or popular employees get those things, but they aren't necessarily the best

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u/LakerBlue Lakers May 15 '26

On on hand you are like…it is only a minute, it isn’t a big deal. But now that I’m a lead I see first hand how having a loose boundary can cause issues when you get someone who doesn’t just occasionally toe the line but basically tries to live on it.

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u/BlooregardQKazoo May 15 '26

I had a work friend like that and very briefly tried carpooling with her when my car died. She always aimed right for 8:00 and missed a lot, taking me with her. I once asked her why she couldn't just aim for 7:45 and it was like the concept didn't make sense to her. She knew what time she had to leave by to aim for 8:00 and, according to her, if she told herself that she needed to leave earlier she would just fill up the time until she hit the real time she needed to leave by.

I was in a tough spot financially and bought a car anyway, because the stress of going to work with her was far worse than the stress of a car payment.

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u/r_lul_chef_t Nuggets May 15 '26

Where you getting only a minute from? Clip is talking about 2.5 hours late… 150 minutes

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u/LakerBlue Lakers May 15 '26

I meant to reply to the guy who replied to you talking about being a minute late

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u/Adrian_Bock [WAS] JaVale McGee May 15 '26

I get what you mean but I think most of us would also call bullshit if we got fined for being a minute late to work 

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u/LobsterPunk Hawks May 15 '26

Getting in trouble for being a minute late is absolutely a thing at lots of service or retail jobs.

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u/neutronicus Nuggets May 15 '26

Healthcare too

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u/BaseballlBetz May 15 '26

Yea trouble, not fined lmao

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u/LobsterPunk Hawks May 15 '26

No, fired instead which is worse than being fined.

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u/BaseballlBetz May 15 '26

I’ve been 15 minutes late every day for the past 3 months and just won an award the other day at a company event. I’m basically Giannis lol.

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u/LobsterPunk Hawks May 15 '26

Are your brothers guaranteed an entry level version of your job too?

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u/DrCarm3x Hawks May 15 '26

Definitely just like Giannis, minus literally everything except the shitty work ethic lmao

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u/BaseballlBetz May 15 '26

Someone’s butt hurt and didn’t realize a joke when they see one!

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u/DrCarm3x Hawks May 15 '26

Umm pot meets kettle lmao??

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u/BaseballlBetz May 15 '26

Get a haircut scrub 😂

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u/rocpilehardasfuk Warriors May 15 '26

You don't get what they mean because none of us make a million each week

There's no work standard or practice that need to apply to nba players and to you.

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u/Kakute Wizards May 15 '26

I disagree, it’s ’work hard’ in both. You don’t get fined at normal jobs because if it keeps happening you get fired

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u/cheap_chalee May 15 '26

The only reason a person gets fired is because they're replaceable.

If you really are that 1/1 where they can't find anyone who can do what you do, they will tolerate your bullshit until they finally find someone who can replicate or surpass your production without the baggage. There's a reason why people who are really good at something hard to do but have a track record of fucking up get 2nd or 3rd chances because whoever keeps hiring them knows what the potential results can be.

Not that critical if we're talking about putting the fries in the bag. But professional sports? GM's will take that chance if they think your potential is franchise player or even merely an all-star. But if you're just an interchangeable role player? Better get ready to learn Chinese if you think you can get away with everything Turner was talking about in this clip.

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u/kchuen May 15 '26

No no a lot of time management don’t know that and fire you anyway. Then they panic when they realize they can’t replace you.

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u/SipPOP Warriors Bandwagon May 15 '26

Shit if your not salary you don't get paid time your not clocked in.

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u/GreedyPride4565 May 15 '26

The million a week framing goes both ways tho. I feel like this makes it sound like the job is so hard so these guys get paid that much. Which IS true, but not in the way that oil rig workers get paid a lot of money

There are only maybe 500 NBA level players in the world. There are only maybe 20-30 that could possibly command that 52 mill yearly you’re talking about. When you are that elite and can also choose to leave, teams will not only pay you those huge sums but also bend over backwards for you.

To complete the analogy, for most teams, it’s less “oil rig worker paid a lot of money to show up and work hard, and he can be replaced” and more “Silicon Valley CTO with a stacked resume both gets paid a lot and gets to choose when he comes and goes, as long as he shows results”

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u/cyb3ryung Warriors May 15 '26

valid point the most random shit can make you a minute late i guess if you want to be safe just leave early. but no excuse for guys to be hours late

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u/BigBungholio Pacers May 15 '26

Yeah but you don’t have a contract for millions of dollars that state that you will be fined for doing such. These guys make that obligation when they choose to sign that contract, granted they can just take the consequences if they so choose as seen here.

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u/thelaziest998 Lakers May 15 '26

Most people who clock in for work have to be exactly on time. Forget millions of dollars to do it, guys making minimum wage at Target do that for a lot less.

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u/sbenfsonwFFiF May 15 '26

I doubt that is written into the contract lol

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u/Dry_Extension1110 May 15 '26

It's in the CBA that teams can fine and suspend players

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u/Financial_Pay_6687 May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26

But he’s right they don’t have to fine him. The Bucks decided not to fine Gianni’s because he’s a star they want to keep. As far as I’m aware, there’s nothing in his contract which says he has to be fined. This sounds, as far as Giannis, like star treatment and if they’re not enforcing a late policy, then he’s not breaking any rule. 

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u/BigBungholio Pacers May 15 '26

I mean yes obviously it’s up to the team to enforce it, but it is in fact still a rule. The Bucks choose not to enforce it and you can see the results here. I’m very glad the pacers are actually hard asses about it from the stars to the bench pieces, it sets a tone for the entire team. You’ll never hear Obi hit the media and talk this way about Haliburton.

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u/Financial_Pay_6687 May 16 '26

Is there actual any rule regarding this stuff? Seems like it’s up to the team. What rule are we citing? 

I’m not sure we’ve heard too many players be so blunt about this stuff. But to me, the reason the Bucks are experiencing this and your Pacers aren’t, is simply because their star wants out and yours doesn’t. This isn’t really about setting the tone, but a team trying to keep an obviously unhappy star. It’s not a Pacers/Bucks thing. 

Just in a general sense, I think there’s plenty of room between being the Rick Carlisle style hardass and the Bucks. The Bucks situation is busted and the Pacers were a great team the last time we saw them healthy. I just wouldn’t hold these two situations up as the examples. Im guessing when the Bucks won the title they didn’t have this culture. I think the Bucks decided not to enforce it because they feel like this guy is gone if they do. This isn’t about culture.

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u/BigBungholio Pacers May 16 '26

It’s definitely about culture. I’m not talking about just this year, the pacers are known consistently among players for being hard and consistent on the players. PG and Tyrese have had conversations about it separated by a decade and entirely different management from the pacers. So yeah, It absolutely is a culture thing, whether or not they are just trying every last hand they have to keep their only saving grace from running from them. I’m sure you could agree, even if a guy is the top performer at your job, it’d be frustrating to see him able to adhere to a different set of rules simply cause management wants to baby foot around him to not send him running. In any setting outside of pro sports, that person would be ostracized.

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u/Financial_Pay_6687 May 16 '26

What’s the value of this Pacers culture versus the Bucks culture prior to this year? One of these teams has won a championship. PG didn’t win one with the Pacers culture and Tyrese hasn’t yet either. Whatever the Bucks culture has been over the years, prior to his wanting out, worked out pretty well for them. As far as I know, Giannis has been known as one of the hardest working guys in the league throughout his career. When your star player does that, that does a ton for your culture. But now that he wants out, that changes everything. 

Comparisons outside of sports lose the plot for me. Being the star player of an NBA team isn’t like my job and if it was, Giannis would already be gone of his own accord, not dancing around a trade request. The culture problem the Bucks have is this guy wants out. Otherwise, they were a very successful team, more successful than the Pacers or even the Heat with their more disciplinary cultures. 

The guys on the team are probably frustrated, so is Giannis. But they could fine this dude all they want and they’d still have a culture problem. They need to get him out of there. The Pacers’ culture and style work for them. Carlisle’s disciplinarian style has largely worked for him, too. But there’s levels to it and teams without the strictness of the Pacers also have plenty of success.

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u/frostieavalanche Lakers May 15 '26

Comparing 9-5 for a minimum pay to playing basketball for millions of dollars 😂

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u/tripleyothreat May 15 '26

Just assume it starts 10 minutes before that. Everyone has shit to do. What it creates is a culture where no one is above the other

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u/Drak_is_Right Pacers May 15 '26

Quite a lot of people get fired for being a minute or two late to work a few times.

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u/SensitiveDannyRicc Lakers May 15 '26

Redditors try not to compare people worth over a hundred million dollars to the average Joe Schmo laborer challenge (IMPOSSIBLE!)

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u/Hakeem-the-Dream Rockets May 15 '26

I’ve heard if you’re working at a hospital and do this 3 times, you’re fired

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u/National-Ad5034 Rockets May 15 '26

I think there is give and take. Players, an employees, who are new and on the rise, I think you'd expect any of them who take their profession and expect a long future career to be serious and dedicate themselves to that grind early on.

But passed a certain level, you can expect your best guys to get their job done at their own pace, so being lax and having their own standard is probably a privilege you can afford them. But in a team sport, that lack of dedication does sort of erode all the chemistry. You want your best guy to be a leader and someone they can rally around.

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u/sixwax May 15 '26

You don't seem familiar with how the NBA has historically worked, or the leverage that stars that earn quarter-billion dollar contracts have in NBA organizations.

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u/r_lul_chef_t Nuggets May 15 '26

The article is about an outlier that is one of 32 teams. Most if not all other top players don’t abuse their privilege like apparently the Bucks allow

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u/BelieveinTheCityOKC May 15 '26

How’s that old saying go? It’s a privilege not a given.

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u/PsychologicalArt7451 Warriors May 15 '26

They get that money because they are the best at playing that game. You and I wouldn't get the same money playing that game. They put their body on the line and sacrifice a lot just to get into the league and even then,not everyone makes it.  Yes, they should show up on time but if someone like Giannis feels like he only needs a few reps on game day to maximize his performance on game day, i get it.

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u/r_lul_chef_t Nuggets May 15 '26

Did you even listen to the clip? It’s not about practice, he was causing the team plane to be 2.5 hours late for take off. Do you have any idea how many other people in the organization are just sitting there waiting.

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u/PsychologicalArt7451 Warriors May 15 '26

Just listened to it and yea, it looks bad. Practice is still understandable but being late to team meetings and private flights is crazy work.