The Philadelphia 76ers’ impressive win over the Bucks is deserving of plenty of headlines in itself. The shorthanded effort from the Sixers, led by Joel Embiid, was arguably their best result of the season and moved the team above .500 for the first time this year. However, it was the postgame extracurricular activities that have stolen the spotlight.
After a horrid 4-15 performance at the free-throw line during the matchup, Giannis Antetokounmpo came out to the court to work on his shot following the game. While the short clip showing the Greek Freak tossing the ladder to the side has circulated on social media, there is more to the story than just this. Rob Perez compiled a collection of videos from the Wells Fargo Center with time stamps on it to provide more context to the situation which can be seen below.
Have compiled videos from last night’s Giannis Antetokounmpo/Montrezl Harrell altercation into one here.
I included timestamps for the videos I was able, using the arena clock in background.
Link on top of the video is to @JoeVardon‘s reporting, for full story of what occurred.
Montrezl Harrell’s Thoughts
For context, the ladders are used to get cameras off the backboard and it is standard procedure to do this following each game. This has been the case all season and prior to Antetokounmpo tossing the ladder away, the procedure had just been done on the opposite end of the court where Harrell was shooting. It was not put there to prevent the Bucks star from shooting but rather with the intention of the employee doing their jobs. They also had to change out the court as the matchup against the Timberwolves will be a City Edition game and there will be a different design on the hardwood.
Harrell seemingly had an issue with Antetokounmpo being allowed to shoot because it was not his home arena. As the former Sixth Man of the Year barked at Antetokounmpo after he took his ball, “This isn’t f—— Milwaukee. Get that s— out of there,” per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. After walking down the opposite end of the court with the ball Antetokounmpo was shooting with, Harrell continued, “Yeah, I took the ball, get the f— outta here. I’m doing my f—— job,” according to The Athletic.
Harrell also took to Twitter to air out his thoughts on the situation which likely has picked up more traction than he desired.
Aye make sure you get the complete story I ask the man can he get off the court so I can workout they had to change the court over he ignore me so hey that’s what you get! Respect is respect! GOODNIGHT!
Thanasis Antetokounmpo Gets Involved
Giannis was not the only Antetokounmpo to get involved in the situation as his brother Thanasis also had words with Harrell. After the former MVP told the story in the locker room, his brother rose to his defense and went to the court himself to speak with the Sixers’ big man. This was captured on video with Harrell seemingly taking more issues with this conversation.
Montrezl Harrell was made for Philly
He could not play the rest of the year and we will still love him
Harrell clearly was not happy with the comments of the second Antetokounmpo and echoed the phrase “I’m one of them…you can try. Try to find out my boy…I’ll beat your a–.”
There are no rules (written or unwritten) about shooting on opponents’ nets following the game if that is what Harrell took offense to. However, sticking up for the disrespect of the Wells Fargo employees is something that would be admirable if that were Harrell’s intentions. The big man has not yet spoken with the media about the situation so it will be interesting to see if he gives more clarity on the altercation. While his on-court impact has not been as great as hoped, Harrell has had a positive impact on the team in the locker room and with his toughness already.
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Montrezl Harrell Breaks Silence On Postgame Altercation With Giannis Antetokounmpo