PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 Giannis Antetokounmpo said it was \u201cdisrespectful\u201d for Milwaukee to bench him over the final weeks of the season while he said he was healthy enough to play, a stinging rebuke of the franchise as he enters a stay-or-leave offseason.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP who led Milwaukee to its first title in a half century in 2021, said after Sunday\u2019s season-ending loss to Philadelphia that he learned that he had no control over his playing status as the Bucks limped to the finish.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo was the subject of trade speculation as the deadline approached, but he wasn\u2019t dealt. He since has been in a dispute with team management over his injury status.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old Antetokounmpo hasn\u2019t played since landing awkwardly after a dunk on March 15. Antetokounmpo said in the closing weeks of the season that he was healthy and wanted to play, but the Bucks continued to rule him out with a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo did not play Sunday at Philadelphia in what was also likely the final game of Hall of Fame coach Doc Rivers\u2019 career.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing cleared to play, I don\u2019t understand. I\u2019ve never in my life denied participation in practice,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cWhoever came up with that is disrespectful towards what I\u2019ve done for this team and the way I carry myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did what I was supposed to do. I wasn\u2019t able to come on the court now. Who has that say? It comes from above. I thought I had control. OK, if I\u2019m healthy, I\u2019m going to play. This just shows me that not just me, players in general, don\u2019t have no control. No, I didn\u2019t feel like I had control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo had participated in recent pregame warmups, showing no sign of injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was draining for me, for sure,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cIf it was draining for me, it was definitely draining for me and the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo said he planned to put his phone on \u201cdo not disturb\u201d and try to avoid the distractions that plagued the end of his season.<\/p>\n
The Bucks could look to trade Antetokounmpo in the offseason, or he could sign a four-year, $275 million extension in October.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo said he had yet to be formally offered the extension \u2014 no surprise given that it could not be finalized for months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s too far away. It\u2019s something I have to sit down with my family and see what\u2019s best for me, what\u2019s best for my family,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cMoney doesn\u2019t mean nothing do me. Zero. Absolutely zero. What means something to me, it\u2019s winning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bucks put Rivers\u2019 job in jeopardy with a dismal 32-50 season that ended the Bucks\u2019 streak of nine straight playoff berths.<\/p>\n
Rivers had said he has a \u201cgreat relationship\u201d with Antetokounmpo and that he often talks to the superstar about what to work on and what to add to his game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to see it end well for him and for the franchise. I think they both deserve it,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cGiannis is a fantastic person. I\u2019ve been lucky to coach a lot of stars, and he\u2019s right at the top as far as good people. I want good people to be taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bucks reached the East finals during Antetokounmpo\u2019s first MVP season in 2019 \u2014 ending an 18-year stretch without a playoff series win. They won the title two years later. But they haven\u2019t won a playoff series since 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the furthest away we\u2019ve been,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cI didn\u2019t think we were going to be in this position last year, so I don\u2019t know what position we will be in next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nba<\/p>\n
Dan Gelston, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 Giannis Antetokounmpo said it was \u201cdisrespectful\u201d for Milwaukee to bench him over the final weeks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-600301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}