NBA – Attacked in the midst of departure rumors, Giannis’ scathing response: “Ridiculous”

Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif

For the time being, Giannis Antetokounmpo has not explicitly declared his intention to stay with the Bucks, but he continues to be the talk of the transfer market… and not just that. Recently targeted by a journalist, he hit back virally.

The collective frenzy that gripped the league a few weeks ago has now given way to resignation. Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t on his way out to Milwaukee after all, despite the fact that many teams would have liked to lure him into their fold. At least, that’s what a famous insider recently claimed, without making the Greek’s name disappear from the NBA news.

Giannis indirectly settles scores with a famous journalist

Potentially incensed by the rumors circulating about him, Giannis allegedly lashed out at Shams Charania, the source of this phenomenon with one of his bombs. However, this didn’t allow him to escape the criticism of another well-known American journalist, Stephen A. Smith. On the set of First Take, he attacked the Greek Freak’s CV, deeming it disappointing as it stands:

Stephen A. Smith: If he doesn’t win another title in his career, that would be an underachievement. (…) He has nine All-NBA Team selections, nine All-Star Game selections and has appeared in the MVP Top 10 nine times. That’s more than the number of playoff series he’s won in his career. And he’s only won one in the last four years! This is unacceptable.

Being as dominant, as fantastic and as competitive as he is, he can’t retire with just one ring to his name.

Given his current trajectory, is Antetokounmpo likely to bid farewell to the league with a few regrets? BBC Sports’ Mo Mooncey thinks quite the opposite, and explained on X :

Mo Mooncey: Giannis went from selling sunglasses on a beach in Greece to a multi-millionaire who won a title without fleeing the franchise that drafted him to create a superteam elsewhere. He’s realized his wildest dreams, and then some, and anyone who thinks otherwise is ridiculous.

As you can imagine, Mooncey is far from sharing Stephen A’s opinion. In fact, he saw his reaction relayed by Giannis himself on his Instagram story, accompanied by the following emojis:

Giannis Antetokounmpo: 💯💯🔥

The ESPN polemicist has certainly alienated a number of superstars in recent hours, having just been posted by Kevin Durant.