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Giannis Antetokounmpo reveals trash talk that led to confrontation with Tyrese Haliburton's father

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•04/29/25•

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Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo
© Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

As the Milwaukee Bucks walked off the court following Tuesday night’s stunning loss to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA playoffs, Giannis Antetokounmpo got into a heat confrontation with a fan. The fan turned out to be Indiana guard Tyrese Haliburton’s father, and Antetokounmpo shared his perspective on what happened.

Antetokounmpo and Haliburton’s father exchanged words as the Bucks star headed to the locker room. They eventually got in each other’s faces before they were separated, and Haliburton said after the game his father was not “in the right.”

Antetokounmpo made it clear he was only going to address the situation once, and gave a passionate answer about his approach to the game in both victory and defeat. He said he tries to be humble even in victory and noted his parents don’t sit courtside or near the game. Antetokounmpo added Haliburton’s father came up to him and talked trash after his son hit the game-winning shot, and he didn’t realize who it was at first.

“Losing a game, emotions run high,” Antetokounmpo said. “Having a fan – which, at the moment, I thought he was a fan and then I realized it was Tyrese’s dad. I love Tyrese. He’s a great competitor. Coming in the floor and showing me his son’s towel and saying, ‘This is what we do. This is what we f’ing do. This is what the eff we do.’ I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo recalled how his own father carried himself, calling him the “most respectful person ever” when he walked into the family room. He learned to stay humble at all times and tries to apply those same lessons today, even as one of the NBA’s biggest stars.

Haliburton said he wanted to talk to Antetokounmpo and apologize after the game. Antetokounmpo confirmed they spoke and it ended well. But the situation as a whole, he said, was “unacceptable” and he didn’t want to say much more from there.

“When I see other dads – which, no disrespect,” Antetokounmpo said. “Maybe if my son plays basketball, I might be in the court, I might be the one on the court and like 20 years later, you can play this interview and say, ‘Giannis, you’re contradicting yourself.’ But we’ll see in 20 years. But I’m telling you right now how I feel. Having somebody’s dad – and I’m happy for him and I’m happy for his son and I’m happy that he’s happy for his son, that’s how he’s supposed to feel.

“But coming to me and disrespecting me and cursing at me is totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable. I’m not a guy that points fingers because in my neighborhood, snitches get stitches. So I don’t want to say something for him to get fined or anything, but it’s not respectful. I talked with him at the end, and I think we’re in a good place.”