Giannis Antetokounmpo is up against more than just trade rumours right now. According to the "Greek Freak," he and his teammates are fighting for their lives.
On Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls, the two-time MVP grabbed a rebound with nine seconds left and his team up seven. Instead of dribbling the clock out, Antetokounmpo sped up before hammering a windmill dunk to cap the win.
"This is real talk, I've been 13 years in the league, if we keep on losing, brother, probably half the team's not gonna be here," said Antetokounmpo to reporters after the game. "We're not going to make the playoffs. I really don't care.
"At the end of the day, I just want to be available, be healthy, and help my team win. And if (a windmill dunk) is what has to happen for everybody to wake up and understand that we're fighting for our lives and we gotta get our hands dirty, so be it."
The Bulls took exception to Antetokounmpo running up the score, with Nikola Vučević and Coby White stepping in to give him a piece of their mind.
A scrum ensued at centre court, with Bobby Portis and Ryan Rollins jumping in to defend Milwaukee's franchise player after White appeared to give Antetokounmpo a small shove.
"He shouldn’t have dunked the ball," said White. "It’s disrespectful to the game. I said, 'Bro, you’re better than that.'"
"The game is over with. Why you gotta do that? It’s a respect thing," White added.
Meanwhile, Vučević brought up rumours that the Bulls would be unwilling to trade for the 31-year-old former Finals MVP.
"I assume Giannis was mad about that report that came out that the Bulls wouldn’t trade for him and he wanted to prove a point," said the Montenegrin centre.
Earlier in the month, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks began to discuss whether his future lies in Milwaukee, according to a Dec. 4 report from ESPN's Shams Charania.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the New York Knicks are the only team Antetokounmpo has expressed interest in.
However, he wasn't receptive when asked if he still wanted to be in Milwaukee.
“I’m here," said Antetokounmpo. "Don’t ask me that question. It’s disrespectful to myself and my teammates. I wear that jersey every single day.”
Saturday's game was Antetokounmpo's return after missing eight games with a calf strain. He had 29 points and eight rebounds, bringing his season averages to 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
