Giannis Antetokounmpo Fires Back at Drake’s Trolling and Proves He’s up for Playoff Spotlight
The Toronto Raptors are coming off winning their first NBA title in franchise history, which has given Toronto-born rapper Drake the chance to celebrate his home team’s success. That bled over into Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, which he made it a point to attempt to troll reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, those plans didn’t quite work out as planned as the Bucks’ star forward cleverly fired back at the Grammy-award winning rapper while demonstrating something far more important.
Drake’s attempt to troll Giannis Antetokounmpo
In the last couple of years, Drake has proudly taken up his role as the ambassador for the Raptors. That has seen him attend many home games where he sits sideline often jawing back and forth with many of the league’s best players.
That was once again the case he decided to bring a pair of WWE championship belts. It was done as a direct shot at Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, who fell in six games to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Drake has repeatedly made that clear in the months that have followed Toronto earning their first NBA title.
The taunting wound up falling short in a losing effort for the Raptors on their home floor by double digits to the Bucks. It also turns out that Drake’s attempt at trolling Antetokounmpo didn’t go as planned either.
Giannis Antetokounmpo brushes aside Drake’s trolling
It was a statement performance for the Bucks on the road to get a strong win over streaking Raptors’ team.
Antetokounmpo put up a nearly triple-double outing with 19 points, 19 rebounds, and eight assists in the contest. Following the game, he quickly voiced that he didn’t even notice what Drake did.
Giannis: “I didn’t notice that. I just found out about it. I don’t know who told me. When I am in the game I am just locked in. I really don’t look outside (out of the court) at fans and what they do.
Reporter: “I asked Drake if he brought the belts to troll you, and he said obviously he was.”
Giannis: “He cares about me. I really don’t. I’m just here to win games and help my team. That’s all.”
The star forward’s attention was steered only on the court as he helped guide his team to an NBA-best 24th road win. It only further speaks to the mental approach that Antetokounmpo has to the game, especially this season, with the special year that Milwaukee has continued to put together.
The 25-year-old is the driving force to the Bucks’ success with the zoned-in focus towards winning an NBA title.
Giannis Antetokounmpo focused on NBA title
Over the last few years, Antetokounmpo has continued to experience vast improvements in his game to where he’s regarded as arguably the best player in the league.
However, this season has had an entirely different approach from him as he’s playing at an altogether different level. He’s producing at a career-best pace ranking fourth with 29.7 points and 13.7 rebounds while shooting 55.1% from the floor. Antetokoummpo looks to be well on his way towards securing a second straight MVP award.
Beyond that, his mindset this season is fixated on getting past his previous playoff shortcomings, which he’s coming the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time. Antetokounmpo has more fuel to the fire after falling just two wins shy of reaching the NBA Finals, and there is a tremendous opportunity to not only compete on that stage but win a championship.
It has the chance to be a career-defining for Antetokounmpo, and his comments concerning Drake’s trolling demonstrates he has much bigger fish to fry this season.
