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As they headed back up the floor, Antetokounmpo held out his hand toward Brown, only to pull it back over the top of his face while smiling at him.
Giannis faking out Brown with a handshake during the game (X)
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo appeared to offer a handshake to Jaylen Brown after committing an offensive foul against the Boston Celtics wing — only to pull his hand back at the last moment.
The incident in the first half of the Celtics’ 113-107 victory over the Bucks on Sunday caused Brown to refer to Antetokounmpo as a “child.” Antetokounmpo responded that he was only joking around.
This sequence began after Antetokounmpo’s elbow appeared to inadvertently hit Brown’s face in the second quarter, resulting in an offensive foul against the two-time MVP.
As they headed back up the floor, Antetokounmpo held out his hand toward Brown, only to pull it back over the top of his face while smiling at him. Antetokounmpo then reached out his hand again, but the Celtics’ three-time All-Star looked down without reciprocating.
“Giannis is a child,” said Brown, who scored 14 points in his return after missing four games with a hip injury. “I’m just focused on helping my team get a win, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Antetokounmpo said he didn’t mean to offend anyone.
“It’s a joke,” said Antetokounmpo, who had 43 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. “We’re playing basketball. At the same time, we’ve got to have fun when we play.”
“I think he’s an incredible player. He does whatever he can to help his team win, an extremely competitive player. We’ve played against one another many times. I think we’re always trying to joke around within the flow of the game. It’s something I do with my kids when we play around. Sometimes, I’m like, ‘Give me a high five. Oh, you’re too slow.’ I just did it. I enjoyed it, though. It was fun.”
“This is who I am,” Antetokounmpo said. “I play the game with fun, joy. I try to surround myself around young people so I can stay young myself, try to be around my kids a lot, my nieces, and sometimes I might go out there at times on the court when I play and do stuff like that… I’m just going to continue to be me.
“At the end of the day, if I’m called a child, so be it….I just try to go out there and have fun. Again, great player, great competitor. If I have another opportunity, I’ll do it again.”