Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, Bucks fans boo
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Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts after making a basket against the Golden State Warriors during the second half at Chase Center on January 07, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
An eye for an eye and a boo for a boo? Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo turned heads Tuesday night by responding to negative reactions from the Milwaukee Bucks crowd by directing boos at his own team’s fanbase.
The incident occurred early in the third quarter when Antetokounmpo made a basket to cut his team’s deficit to 29 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The crowd at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee rained down the boos in the first half when their team fell to a 76-45 hole against the No. 4 seed in the West.
As seen in the clip below, Antetokounmpo taunted the Bucks fans with a two thumbs-down gesture while also booing them. After the 139-106 loss, he admitted that his own fanbase booing him deeply hurt him, and that he hadn’t experienced such a reaction in his 13 years with the franchise that drafted him in 2013.
Giannis Turning on Bucks?
“Whenever I get booed, I boo back,” Antetokounmpo, via ESPN’s Jamal Collier.
Antetokounmpo used the same double thumbs-down gesture when the hostile Indiana Pacers crowd booed him back in a game in October. However, Tuesday’s game marked the first instance of him directing his vitriol at his own fanbase.
Antetokounmpo, though, did not enjoy how he reacted to the jeers.
“I play basketball for my teammates. I play basketball for myself and my family. When people don’t believe in me, I don’t tend to be with them,” he said.
“I tend to do what I’m here to do, what I’m good at. … It won’t change home or away. But yeah, I’ve never been a part of something like that before and I don’t think it’s fair. I don’t. But everybody has their opinion to do what they want to do.
“I’m not going to tell them what to do and how they should act when we don’t play hard. Or when we lose games, or when we’re not where we’re supposed to be. I don’t think anybody has the right to tell me how I should act on [a] basketball court after I’ve been here 13 years. And I’m basically the all-time leader in everything.”
Giannis Trade Rumors
The Bucks (17-23) face an uphill task to secure a play-in berth, let alone a guaranteed playoff spot. Amid their losing season, there has been a lot of chatter that Giannis Antetokounmpo could ask out of his situation in Milwaukee. However, the 2021 NBA Finals MVP has repeatedly stressed that he would never seek a trade, and that he remains committed to the Bucks and his teammates until the day he’s in Milwaukee.
“There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say, ‘I want a trade,’” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic’s Sam Amick last week. “That’s not … in … my … nature. OK?”
Last offseason, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Antetokounmpo and his camp were open to exploring a trade, with the New York Knicks emerging as his desired spot. However, the buzz around a Giannis trade has died down in recent months, and all signs point to the 31-year-old superstar staying put past the NBA trade deadline.
Some league insiders believe a Giannis trade could go down later this summer when interested suitors would be armed with more draft capital and salary-cap flexibility to pull off a deal for a player owed $58M in 2026-27 and $62M in 2027-28.