Giannis Antetokounmpo is putting the rest of the NBA on notice.
The Milwaukee Bucks superstar issued a short, but strongly worded social media post Tuesday afternoon using language you often don’t see from him.
“I’m tired of the disrespect. I’m coming,” Antetokounmpo wrote in a somewhat cryptic post, though it’s likely he’s referencing either not being voted to the NBA’s all-defensive teams or possibly still a reaction to some criticism over his comments on failure following the Bucks’ shocking playoff elimination in the first round last month.
The Instagram post and tweet quickly went viral Tuesday.
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He used a photo of himself that had a stern-looking expression to accompany the message.
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Does this mean we’re getting an angry Giannis in 2023-24 with more mean mugs as opposed to the player who became known for his Dad jokes during press conferences in recent seasons?
His social media posts came shortly after the all-defensive teams were released by the NBA. While Antetokounmpo finished with 16 first-team votes and 28 second-team votes, that was not enough to crack either first or second team.
Dating to the 2016-17 season, Antetokounmpo had been a part of the first and second defensive teams every year but one. And Antetokounmpo had been a member of the first-team all-defensive squad the previous four seasons.
The Bucks were still well-represented on the all-defensive teams. They were the only team in the NBA with two first-teamers – Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez.
Antetokounmpo was sixth in defensive player of the year voting this season, but that voting is separate from the all-defensive teams. Antetokounmpo won the defensive player of the year award in 2019-20.
Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA this season, but that did not carry over to the playoffs against the eighth-seeded Miami Heat. The top-seeded Bucks allowed 124 points per game – about 11 points more than their regular season average – in their five-game first-round upset loss.
The defensive awards weren’t the only honors Antetokounmpo missed out on. He was third in the MVP voting after finishing in the top five in scoring (31.1 points per game) and rebounding (11.8).
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo tired of disrespect after NBA all-defensive snub