Giannis Antetokoumpo isn’t a player with too many weaknesses in his game, but if there was a glaring one out there it’d almost certainly be his ability to shoot free throws.
Free throws have generally been a struggle for Antetokounmpo over the last few years. He’s been up and down on his percentages for most of his career and he also takes a super long time to actually shoot them.
And, boy, did he struggle with them against the 76ers on Friday. He shot 4-15 from the line in the game.
He was so bad that he came back to the court after the 76ers win to actually practice his free throw.
And, well, that’s where all this beef started.
Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery
Wait, there's beef from this?
Yup. That’s a thing. If you were up in the wee hours of the morning on Twitter you probably saw this video of Giannis Antetokounmpo tossing a ladder away from the basket and going back to shooting free throws.
Giannis throwing down the ladder and disrespecting the employees of @WellsFargoCtr after losing to the @sixers. pic.twitter.com/DBrRu1nq7K
— Dennis Moore (@dem389) November 19, 2022
That’s not a great look, obviously. Antetokounmpo is clearly mad. But this is where the story actually ends, not the beginning.
Alright, so what happened?
So here’s the deal. Antetokounmpo came out on the floor to shoot free throws after the game.
He was in the middle of practicing his shot, which isn’t necessarily the most normal thing after a game but it is something that has been done before. He started after the game ended.
Weve broken Giannis (0-4 postgame) pic.twitter.com/5sMo2Jeqgo
— Dennis (@GipperGrove) November 19, 2022
Wait, shooting on the court after a game? Isn't that weird?
It’s not common to see a player staying behind and getting in work after a game. But it does happen. Remember when Kobe Bryant did it in 2011? It was on the road after a loss to the Heat.
The video of Giannis Antetokounmpo shooting after the game reminds me of being in Miami after the Heat beat the Lakers in 2011. Kobe Bryant played 40 minutes, scored 24 points but was 8-for-21 from the field and blamed himself. He stayed for over an hour after the game shooting. pic.twitter.com/BcfdtB0dtm
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 19, 2022
DeMar DeRozan did it earlier this year, too.
Bulls game ended about 30 min ago. They’re breaking down the United Center court to switch over to hockey
But DeMar DeRozan after going an uncharacteristic 7 for 13 at FT line is out here still shooting FTs pic.twitter.com/Ri5bjJejHy
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) January 4, 2022
So Giannis wasn’t doing anything extraordinary here.
So then why was there a problem?
Well, things started to get weird. In the middle of Antetokounmpo’s practicing, Harrell comes to take the ball to interrupt his practice and stop his shooting.
Video of Montrezl Harrell taking the ball away while Giannis Antetokounmpo was shooting free throws after the game:
🎥 Mahktar Ndiaye & @joevardon pic.twitter.com/6jACYFTee4
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 19, 2022
After he takes the ball he yells at Giannis, “This isn’t f****** Milwaukee. Get that s*** out of there,” per The Athletic.
The mess really starts here.
So where do the arena workers come in?
After every game, arena workers take down the cameras on top of the courts. They began that process while Antetokounmpo was shooting on the opposite side of the court. That’s an important detail here. Only one side of the court is open and available for shooting at a time in this scenario.
So after Harrell steals the ball, Giannis goes in the back and gets another ball so he can continue shooting.
But the kicker is Harrell goes on the other side of the court and starts shooting himself so Antetokounmpo can’t shoot peacefully on the other side. Only the side with the ladder on it is open.
Y’all be the judge of the Giannis and Montrell situation. pic.twitter.com/8BBWhmyDFI
— Seanathon of house Stark (@NotSeanathonOak) November 19, 2022
Wow, that's petty!
Incredibly petty. So, Antetokounmpo comes back and returns to the side of the court he was originally on.
The ladder was in the way. You can refer to the first video for the rest. It’s just a weird petty situation. Antetokounmpo spoke to the media about it after and didn’t seem to feel remorseful for what happened at all.
“I never try to disrespect anyone, in any way shape or form…I feel like today was just unfortunate event that took place. I think people did not respect the fact that sometimes players want to get some extra work in. I think it’s unprofessional to kick somebody off the court or take the ball or whatever the case might be. Or put the ladder in front of somebody while he’s trying to do his job. We get paid to do this. They didn’t just pick us. We get paid.”
Clearly, he was bothered by this.
Did Harrell have anything to say?
Yup. And he let it ring off on Twitter.
Aye make sure you get the complete story I ask the man can he get off the court so I can workout they had to change the court over he ignore me so hey that’s what you get! Respect is respect! GOODNIGHT!
— Montrezl Harrell (@MONSTATREZZ) November 19, 2022
So that’s that on that.
Is any of this a big deal?
Nah. Not really. This is the best tweet you’re probably going to see about it all.
see this giannis vs. montrezl harrell free throw in the bank ladder match scenario is exactly why i'm tired of everything being leaked with visuals because that's just a petty basketball thing
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) November 19, 2022
And that’s really all there is to it.
