Milwaukee Bucks of America’s Nigerian-born star, Giannis Adetokunbo (Antetokounmpo) is in the news for the wrong reasons, after he got himself sent off for deliberately crashing his head into Washington Wizards ace, Moritz Wagner during their fixture in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) league.
Antetokounmpo, who is the NBA’s reigning most valuable player (MVP), brought back memories of a similar ugly action by French ex-football star, Zinedine Zidane, as the Nigerian-born Greece international was left fuming after the match officials failed to give a foul call ‘The Greek Freak’ felt he had earned from a collision with Wagner.
Megasportsarena.com can, however, report that the foul was called against Antetokounmpo with around eight minutes left in the first half and, while he is normally mild-mannered, the current MVP lost his top and, as both players exchanged heated words, he went on to execute a bumping headbutt on Wagner.
It remains unclear if the NBA will exact further punishment on one of the league’s biggest stars, as The Bucks have one final game before the play-offs begin and an extended ban could see Antetokounmpo forced to miss the last regular season game against Memphis Grizzlies.
They are the No 1 side in the Eastern Conference and are considered among the favourites to win this year’s Larry O’Brien Trophy, with Antetokounmpo also looking good to retain his MVP prize and added best defensive player gong to it, but his strides could be dented with a possible disciplinary setback in the coming hours.
Antetokounmpo admitted afterwards that his actions deserved his expulsion from the game as tempers frayed in a physical encounter and added: “You know, terrible action. If I could go back, turn back time and go back to that play, I wouldn’t do it. But at the end of the day, we’re all human, we all make mistakes.
“I think I’ve done a great job all year, and in my career, in keeping my composure and focusing on the game. I have nothing against Wagner, it wasn’t just him. It was just, in my mind, all the games I’ve played, guys hitting me, so I just lost it for a second.”
