Giannis Returns to Stir The Bucks’ Pot, and Leads In All-Star Voting

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Photo via Milwaukee Bucks - Facebook

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo is back, after having missed eight consecutive games with a left calf injury. He wasted no time in making his presence known by unapologetically creating a controversy on Friday night in Chicago, and then, taking it easy in Monday night’s game against Charlotte. The Bucks (14-19) won both tilts.

In his absence, all manner of trade rumors and possibilities kept his name in the news.

Milwaukee went 2-6 in those eight games away, with some great efforts. There was also a feeling of being tentative and lost, while holding an open place in the game plan. Now with “The Big Guy” back, for the moment, it is a return to whatever they were doing.

The fireworks in Chicago came during the waning seconds of a 112-103 win. With the game virtually over, Antetokounmpo sprinted with the ball, from the half court line, and with a dramatic Pete Townshend windmill motion, he dunked the ball. The meaningless points prompted the Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic to catch him, at mid-court, for some words.

Benches Clear for Shoving Match

Before long, both benches cleared for the ensuing shoving match. Antetokounmpo (29 points) defended his action, talking to reporters, later. “What? We’re 11th in the East, or 12th? Just got to keep finding our identity and if that is to be scrappy at the end, so be it. Why should we play the clock out and have respect and fair play?

“Like we’re fighting for our lives right now … I’ve been 13 years in the league, if we keep on losing, brother, half of the team’s not going to be here,” he said. “Like, I really don’t care. At the end of the day, I just want to be available, be healthy, and help my team win. And if that’s what has to happen for them, everybody, to wake up and understand we’re fighting for our lives, and got to get our hands dirty, so be it.”

Whatever happened in the locker room that night, there was a different feel to Monday’s game with the Hornets. Antetokounmpo (24) played only 25 minutes, as in Chicago. Myles Turner (23) and Bobby Portis Jr (25) stepped up, along with Kevin Porter Jr. (15) and Ryan Rollins (13). Grabbing 31 team rebounds, playmaking was the focus.

Unselfish Play

The Hornets are a weaker team, and a good place to focus on playmaking. Portis Jr. only grabbed tw0 rebounds but shot 8-12 from the field and 5-7 from three-point range.  As a squad, the Bucks shot 52% from the field, with a seemingly unselfish style of play. Only five games below.500 and 4^th in the NBA Central Division, this could get interesting.

On Monday, the league also announced the first round of voting for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game. Antetokounmpo led the Eastern Conference players with 1,192,296 votes. He has missed more than one-third of the games played so far, from injury, sitting out 14 games and portions of two others.

Despite missing so much, he has put up numbers such as a 28.9 points per game on a 64.1% shooting average (fifth in the league), and averaged 10.0 rebounds per game. There is no wondering about his popularity, having been previously selected nine times.

The 2026 NBA All-Star Game is Feb. 15 in Los Angeles and surrounded by events befitting the hoopla. The game itself is anything but the Eastern vs. Western conferences. The format is the “U.S. vs. The World,” with two teams of U.S. players taking on another team, comprised of international players, in a round-robin tournament.

If all three teams have identical records, before entering the final game, the tiebreaker would be factored on point differentials. Only the NBA can devise such nonchalant lunacy, reminiscent of the “no defense” games of yore. This has “TRAIN WRECK” emblazoned all over it, and surely will be a jaw-dropping experience of denial. 

The Bucks come home to the Fiserv Forum, after a five-game road trip, to play the Washington Wizards (7-24) on New Year’s Eve and Friday against the Charlotte Hornets (11-21).