NBA Analyst Kendrick Perkins called out Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in reference to one of his previous statements as he expressed hope that he will not get to hear one after their defeat to the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics defeated the Bucks 119-116 in the recent clash and it allowed former Celtics star Perkins to take a dig at Antetokounmpo. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I hope Giannis doesn’t come with one of his, ‘It’s bigger than basketball’ speeches tonight. The Celtics stood on business tonight and kicked their a**! Carry the hell on.”
Here, Perkins is referring to Antetkounmpo’s speech from 2020 during the NBA playoffs bubble in support of Jacob Blake’s shooting. Blake, who is an African-American was shot seven times by Officer Rusten Sheskey in August 2020 in Wisconsin, a town near Milwaukee.
The incident had a racial backdrop because Sheskey was white and it led to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement which were prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic as people protested for equality against racial discrimination.
Milwaukee Bucks players did not show up for warm-ups for their first-round playoffs against Orlando Magic and ultimately the matches got rescheduled.
Speaking on the issue Antetokounmpo said, “One thing that moved me as a human being was that, if you really want to accomplish something and get something done, you can. We were able to get his family’s number within like 30 minutes. And, we came together as a team, went in a circle, talked to his dad and his dad was tearing up telling us how powerful what we did on that day was for him and his family, and that’s bigger than basketball to me.”
However, on the night, it was a disappointing performance from Antetokounmpo and Perkins had all the right to roast him on social media. Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points as he went 7-20 from the field, missing all of his three-point attempts. Although he had 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals on the night.
The Bucks are third in the Eastern Conference with a 10-5 record in the current NBA season. However, the Celtics are on top currently with a brilliant record of 12-3.
