The Meek Freak

Five years ago, Giannis Antetokounmpo was universally regarded as the Best Player in the World. Fresh off dropping a 50 piece in a series clinching win over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals, the question wasn’t whether he would get back to the mountaintop but rather how many times he would reach its peak.

But then, as they say, life got in the way.

In an effort to maximize Giannis’ prime and ensure that the best player in franchise history would spend his entire career in Milwaukee, the Bucks made bad decision after bad decision.

Giannis privately vents about not having enough scoring punch in the backcourt? Let’s flip defensive ace Jrue Holiday for offensive wizard Damian Lillard. Not only did the Lillard-Giannis pairing prove to be clunky at best, but Holiday quickly got traded to Boston and wound up helping the Celtics to win a title instead.

Giannis quietly sours on the tactics of rookie head coach Adrian Griffin? Let’s bring in veteran – albeit flawed – head coach Doc Rivers. Griffin had gone 30-13 before being

fired; Rivers finished his Bucks tenure with a record of 97 103. Giannis vaguely threatens not to re-sign in Milwaukee unless they can find a way to replace an injured Lillard? Let’s waive and stretch Dame so we can throw the proverbial bag at big man Myles Turner. Turner responded by turning in the least efficient season

of his NBA career.

In each scenario, Antetokounmpo threw stones and hid his hands, leaving Jon Horst and the rest of the Milwaukee brass to take the blame. It wasn’t me; it was them. They made those moves on their own accord. I had nothing to do with it.

As a result, since winning that championship in 2021, Milwaukee hasn’t been out of the second round, got bounced in the first round three straight years and even missed the playoffs entirely this season.

And how has Antetokounmpo responded to this recent run of misery? By forcing the rest of us to engage in the most embarrassing episode of will-he-or-won’t-he in recent sports history.

In July, he publicly decried, “I love Milwaukee!” Six months after that, he purged his social media accounts of anything related to the team. After not getting dealt at the trade deadline, he shared a video from the Wolf of Wall Street with the caption, “Legends don’t chase. They attract.” Two weeks later, he could only say, "As of today, I'm committed to the Milwaukee Bucks.”

Forget the Greek Freak; call him the Meek Freak.

Given the way seemingly every Bucks move the last four years has backfired, would anybody blame him for wanting out? Of course not. He ranks first in Bucks history in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and games played. He’s a two-time league MVP, a Defensive Player of the Year, a Rookie of the Year, a Finals MVP and an NBA

champion. How could anyone have anything but positive things to say about the Antetokounmpo Era in Milwaukee?

However, because he’s so hell-bent on maintaining that squeaky clean image he’s worked so hard to cultivate, Giannis has chosen instead to play the victim and force the Bucks front office to become the ‘bad guys’. By doing so, he’s not only alienated the basketball world at-large, he’s alienated the Milwaukee faithful who have shown him unwavering support all these years.

If there’s a silver lining to all of this, it’s that the end is near. By all accounts, Giannis will be traded by the NBA Draft at the latest. It’s just a shame that a man built like a Greek God has cowered from controversy on his way out the door.