During a frustrating game against the Timberwolves, Giannis Antetokounmpo decided to take matters into his own hands and booed his home fans in a bizarre scene.
By half-time the Feather Forum fans had had enough. Milwaukee lost 76-45 to the Timberwolves, who played without star players Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards. Fans booed loudly as the team returned to the locker room.
In the third quarter, Giannis decided to boo the fans.
FULL MOMENT: Giannis boos Bucks fans during blowout pic.twitter.com/MyShKbaYcE
— NBAbzy (@nbabzyy) January 14, 2026
After the game, he told reporters he couldn't remember being booed by home fans before.
“I would have booed, for sure,” Giannis said. “When I get booed, I respond to boos. I've been doing that all season. You [reporters] Didn't walk with me on the road. Whenever I get booed, I boo back. “
“But it's a home game,” one reporter shrieked.
To which Giannis responded: “No, no, it's okay. It's okay, I play for my teammates. I play for myself and my family. When people don't believe in me, I don't hang out with them. I tend to go against them. I tend to do what I'm here to do, what I'm good at, right?”
“I feel like I'm like a maverick. I've always been that way so it's not going to change now, it doesn't matter if I'm home or away. But yeah, I've never been involved in anything like this before and I don't think it's fair. I don't. But everyone has their own opinion to do what they want to do. things; when we're not playing hard, losing games or maybe not working hard, I'm not going to tell them what to do or how to act. That's how we should be, and I don't think anybody has the right to tell me how to behave on the basketball court, and I'm basically the leader in everything.”
Head coach Doc Rivers believes leg fatigue is a reason for the team's sluggish play. But Antetokounmpo disagrees.
“I don't think it's a dead leg,” he said. “Are we tired? Yes, a little bit. We had a day off yesterday. I don't understand why.
“It's not a dead leg. I would never say I didn't have a leg. I would say I could have done better. My effort wasn't there. Maybe I wasn't as focused as I should have been. And then, when I look at myself and I look at the team as a whole, we could have done better, but I don't think it was a dead leg. That can't be an excuse.”
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