This week, Kyrie Irving said he was a martyr for refusing to be vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo earned the muted ire of Celtics fans for .. receiving favorable treatment from the officials, like every NBA superstar.
Villains aren’t made equally.
The Celtics’ semifinals series against the Bucks is different from their clash against the Nets for myriad reasons. For starters, the Bucks are a cohesive team and actually play defense. But Milwaukee also doesn’t generate the same antipathy as Brooklyn.
That’s because Giannis is tough to dislike.
On “Merloni, Fauria & Mego” this week, Fauria laid out his reasons for hating the two-time MVP. According to Fauria, Giannis’ two biggest offenses are his proclivity for taking practice free throw shots and barreling over defenders when he plows to the rim.
With all due respect to my Super Bowl-winning friend, those are less than inspiring reasons.
Giannis is different from most NBA stars, beginning with the fact he didn’t spurn Milwaukee to join a bunch of other All-Stars on the West or East Coast. Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, $228 million supermax extension with the Bucks, who promptly surrounded him with a tenacious guard in Jrue Holiday and selection of spot-up shooters. In other words, they built a team. And it paid off.
The Bucks won the championship last year and are poised to contend for years on end.
Tensions naturally build throughout NBA playoff series. As the Celtics and Bucks resume their series this weekend, there’s little doubt fans will conjure up more reasons to loathe Giannis. Every good blockbuster features an antagonist.
But as much as we may try, piling on Giannis just seems forced. He doesn’t flip off the crowd or speak circuitously in his post-game pressers. There is an astonishing lack of drama that surrounds him.
He just shows up, and plays better than everybody else.
The Celtics were able to keep Giannis in check during Game 2, holding him to just 11-of-27 from the floor, including 2-for-12 in the first half. They threw bodies on him all game long, just like they did with Kevin Durant.
But unlike Durant, there’s little chance of Giannis feuding with fans on social media after a tough loss. This is a series where the storylines promise to stay on the parquet, no matter how much we may try to create a circus.
Practicing free throws just isn’t the same as flipping the bird.