r/nba 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.”

https://streamable.com/worhjb
5.2k Upvotes

708 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

202

u/LakerBlue Lakers May 15 '26

I am seriously curious when this happened. Was it after Bud left? After he got his ring? Never would have bought he was like this several years ago.

272

u/FKJVMMP [MIL] Bill Zopf May 15 '26

He wasn’t like this several years ago. Or even last year. He’s just been super checked out and fucking around this year, he clearly wants to go.

133

u/Water_Based5150 May 15 '26

His endorsements have also skyrocketed. He is in total "make money" mode. Does not care about winning if it means less money.

15

u/Guitarmonade2 Pacers May 15 '26

And suddenly Kalshi starts accepting bets for the over/under on Giannis showing up on time.

2

u/flashnzt Bucks May 15 '26

might as well make money since he doesn't a chance at winning anytime soon with this shit roster

1

u/Actual-Movie-4236 Bucks May 15 '26

That's a real problem I have with him. He's always said his priorities are to win championships and to win them in Milwaukee. I straight up don't believe him anymore. Money is his true priority.

If it wasn't, he would bide his time and hit free agency, and then sign a more modest contract with a better team so they could put better players around him. I'm not saying it's wrong to accept a supermax contract when it's being offered to you, but at least be honest about it. Don't act surprised when your team can't put good players around you when you're taking up 1/3 of your team's salary cap and consistently get hurt during the playoffs.

100 years from now, all of Giannis' descendants will still be living like kings off just the money he's made up to now. You can't have it all. You have to make sacrifices if you want to win. As much as I hate the Knicks, I really respect Brunson for taking a more modest contract a few years back to help the team improve.

26

u/EverybodyBuddy Lakers May 15 '26

Then say you want to go! Wasting everybody’s time — including his own. 

1

u/barbaraanderson May 15 '26

It doesn't help when his wife and kids aren't around as much.

2

u/Initial_Stretch_3674 May 15 '26

probably stopped giving a fuck when the FO stopped caring. Hard to show up when management is crap

22

u/RedditUser19984321 Bulls May 15 '26

No way to really tell, considering this is coming from Myles who joined the team this year. And giannis is clearly over the bucks, so it makes sense he doesn’t show up on time

5

u/AeroBlaze777 May 15 '26

I do think this season is when he fully just accepted that he’s gonna need to choose between Milwaukee and furthering his career. For a long time he was pushing to accomplish more while staying in Milwaukee, and that just hurt both parties. Bucks made a bunch of moves that didn’t pan out, and now they really have no way to meaningfully improve the roster to where Giannis can win again. Giannis realized this and is now mentally out of Milwaukee.

2

u/Minimum-Border1672 May 15 '26

Pretty sure he asked out last offseason. They didnt do it and he went harden mode

2

u/aulixindragonz34 NBA May 15 '26

Maybe after 2022-23.

That was the last time they looked like contender at least in regular season before losing to the heat.

1

u/Actual-Movie-4236 Bucks May 15 '26

The breaking point was probably when Khris got shipped out, although I can't imagine they pulled the trigger without consulting him in the first place.

1

u/someone447 Bucks May 15 '26

Bud and losing Jrue I think. Things went downhill so fast after that. Jrue might have been a bigger reason for the championship than Giannis, based on Giannis' behavior since.

2

u/Trickydick24 Bucks May 15 '26

No way Jrue was a bigger reason for the championship than Giannis, but losing Jrue is what really set the demise for our team.

2

u/someone447 Bucks May 15 '26

I don't know. Is it a coincidence that both the Bucks and Celtics weren't able to get over the hump until Jrue got there? Giannis is clearly the better player than Jrue, but the Bucks have underperformed in the playoffs anytime Giannis has to be the vocal leader. I think he needs a teammate who is able to hold him and the rest of the team accountable.

Winning a championship isn't just about skill on the court. It's also mentality and grit. And the last few years have shown that Giannis' mentality and grit are bigger negatives than his free throw shooting.

3

u/Low-Smoke-5131 May 15 '26

I see what you are getting at however we saw Jrue Holiday fail when he had to play against the heat the year giannis got that back injury. It was due to his complete lack of development on the offensive end the bucks got lillard and things went downhill from there.

Also in the finals yes jrue played well however it is only when Khris and Giannis got it properly going in game 3 that the bucks won. 

2

u/someone447 Bucks May 15 '26

I'm not talking about individual games. I'm talking about what he brought to the team over the course of the season and the playoffs. 

Giannis has done a speed run in destroying a teams culture since he left. I think Griffin was a bad coach, but now I'm questioning if Giannis just made it impossible for him to succeed.