Mark Cuban weighs in on the dustup between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Pacers
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban weighed in on the debate around Giannis Antetokounmpo’s behavior following his historic game against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum.
Antetokounmpo scored 64 points in the home game, a Milwaukee Bucks franchise record, but was not given the ball as a memento after the game which incensed the two-time MVP.
The Pacers organization had already taken the game ball for rookie Oscar Tshiebwe who scored the first points of his NBA career. Indiana claimed afterward that this was customary for the organization and not a slight directed at the Bucks star.
Cuban, speaking with TMZ Sports, said Antetokounmpo should’ve been willing to give the ball up so the rookie could have it after scoring his first points.
“If you have a rookie who’s never scored before in an NBA game, that’s a big deal that only happens once,” said Cuban, “ I’d give the ball to the rookie.”
Antetokounmpo looked for the ball after the game and got into a heated discussion with Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton before charging into the tunnel attempting to retrieve the ball himself from the Pacers.
After Antetokounmpo failed to recover the ball, a member of Bucks security was able to retrieve it but the Greek native questioned if he was given the real game ball.
“I have a ball, but I don’t know if it’s the game ball,” Antetokounmpo said. “It doesn’t feel like the game ball to me, it feels like a brand new ball. I can tell. I played 35 minutes today, I know how the game ball felt.”
