WATCH: Giannis Antetokounmpo throws ladder postgame, gets into altercation with Montrezl Harrell
A messy situation unfolded last night between Giannis Antetokounmpo, his brother, Montrezl Harrell and the Wells Fargo Center staff following the 76ers’ 110-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
It was quite the scene following the game and if you looked at social media, there was a ton of confusion about the timeline of events. According to The Athletic, here’s how things unfolded postgame.
After going a miserable 4-for-15 from the free throw line, Giannis wanted to stick around and shoot extra foul shots. At the same time, Montrezl Harrell and Sixers’ coaching staff member Jason Love returned to the court to also get some extra work in.
Harrell, unhappy Giannis was still out on the court, took the a basketball from him, refusing to give it back.
Montrezl Harrell takes ball from Giannis Antetokounmpo
Originally tweeted by The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) on November 19, 2022.
Giannis then returned to the basketball court with two more basketballs. Upon his return, Wells Fargo Center employees had begun taking down the hoops and completing their end-of-work tasks for the night.
That prompted Antetokounmpo to request the man to move the ladder so he could finish his shooting. The employee at the Wells Fargo Center twice, said no. Giannis tried to move the ladder out of the way, knocking it over.
WATCH: Giannis Antetokounmpo Ladder Incident
Originally tweeted by Dennis Moore (@dem389) on November 19, 2022.
Now, a visibly frustrated Giannis kept shooting foul shots while Harrell was on the other end of the court working out on his own, while yelling at him.
“Yeah I took the ball, get the f— outta here,” Harrell said, as Giannis shouted from his end: “I’m doing my f—— job.”
Harrell yelling at Giannis caught the attention of his brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who approached Harrell at half court and yet another altercation broke out, with Harrell threatening to fight Thanasis.
“I’ll beat your a–” and “you better send that s— back to the locker room.”
Thanasis walked away without incident.
Montrezl Harrell at Half Court yelling at the Antetokounmpo Brothers
Originally tweeted by Caden Salvino (@cadens25) on November 19, 2022.
Okay so there’s a lot to unpack here.
First things first, after every NBA game, the crew begins breaking down the court almost immediately after. That includes removing the video equipment from the top of each basket.
Obviously, Giannis’ getting mad at the crew for simply doing their job and ultimately knocking a ladder down in the process is a bad look. Even more so when a fan captures on the internet and posts the video without the full timeline of events in place.
It’s also a bad look at Harrell, who apparently was just upset that Giannis, an opposing player who just lost on the road to the 76ers, was out on the court still working out while he was trying to do the same.
Of course, it’s easy to trash Giannis and you would be right to do so given the fact that he disrespected workers just trying to do you job, but you also have to look at Harrell and ask what the hell he was doing out there. Instigating this situation and taking basketballs from Giannis and then trying to fight the Antetokounmpo brothers seems very unnecessary.
Both can be true.
Here’s what Giannis said after the game about the incident.
“It just funny to me because I have a basketball court at my house and my kids always go and shoot, and whenever it gets to 9 p.m. I go and take the ball from their hands,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like we’re more mature than that. We are professional athletes that try to do our job. You can go and ask (Harrell). I offered him to shoot, let’s shoot together. Meanwhile, I don’t understand this because there’s a basket right behind me. There was another basket behind me. And, he chose to come to take my ball, have his coach get in front of me, and kind of bully me away from the court and go to the other basket.
“I’m not going to try to fight somebody. I have kids now, I gotta save my money. But now, if you guys see that as disrespect, that’s on you.”
Basically, the entire situation, while hilarious, was completely unnecessary.
The 76ers are back in action tonight at the Wells Fargo Center hosting the 7-8 Minnesota Timberwolves.
We’ll keep you posted on Tyrese Maxey, who exited the game early with an ankle injury.
Mandatory Credit: twitter.com/dem389
