Earlier this week, NBA Players Association (NBPA) released the following statement rebuking the Bucks over their alleged desire to shut Giannis Antetokounmpo down for the remainder of the season following yet another injury:
“The Player Participation Policy was designed by the league to hold teams accountable and ensure that when an All-Star like Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy and ready to play, he is on the court. Unfortunately, anti-tanking policies are only as effective as their enforcement;
fans, broadcast partners, and the integrity of the game itself will continue to suffer as long as ownership goes unchecked. We look forward to collaborating with the NBA on meaningful new proposals that will directly address and discourage tanking.”
So, before I pick this apart, let’s recap the injuries Giannis has sustained this season. First, he suffered a groin strain in November and was projected to be out 1–2 weeks; he returned in 11 days. Then, he suffered a calf strain in December and was projected to be out 4–6 weeks; he returned in 24 days. He then reinjured that same calf in late January and, again, was projected to miss 4–6 weeks; this time, he and the medical team finally took that timeline seriously, missing about five weeks.
Following that, after playing three games, he rolled his ankle in the March 10 contest against Phoenix, which clearly hindered him for the rest of the game, but of course, Doc took GA’s word that he was fine and allowed him to keep playing; he missed no games, and we have no clue if the effects of that were/are still lingering. His latest injury, for crying out loud, is a hyperextended knee in which he also rolled an ankle (again) on the same play. Suffice to say, I’m willing to bet he isn’t 100%.
With that in mind, let’s rip into this statement. In essence, the NBPA claims that Milwaukee does not want Giannis to play because they are tanking and his presence will hinder their pursuit to lose games. What’s likely happened here is that Giannis wants to play, the front office wants him to sit, and so he (or his camp) has tattled to the players association to pressure the team into letting him play. Now, judging by Antetokounmpo’s previous handling of injuries and admission that he hasn’t been as careful as he should’ve been (why it was ever in his hands to such a degree, I’ll never understand), I’m not sure he has built up a great deal of credibility in this area. As reported by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, the team’s stance is that Giannis is not healthy, and that’s all we can currently go by.
Now, maybe Antetokounmpo is telling the truth that he’s good to go, and the team is playing politics. But as I have written about, those politics likely have very little to do with tanking, as the NBPA asserts, and a whole lot to do with keeping Giannis healthy going into one of the most consequential offseasons in Bucks history; the “losing games” part of it is just a side effect (or bonus, if you see it that way). Not to rehash the whole article, but a catastrophic injury would put an almighty spanner in the works as it relates to Milwaukee’s future. So, hear me when I say that while a fine from the NBA would be ridiculous on many levels, I would pay 20 fines, and that would still be preferable to him returning.
To be clear, the assertion that Milwaukee is tanking or has tanked at any point this season is laughable at best, and deceitful at worst. The Bucks do not pass the smell test of any of the tanking hallmarks. They haven’t abused the injury report in any shape or form, and the perfect example of that is Giannis. They allowed him to come back as soon as humanly possible from his injuries, despite (I assume/hope) knowing the risk that was involved; could you imagine how long the Jazz, for example, would have held Lauri Markkanen out if he’d suffered the same calf injury GA suffered? “Oh, Lauri? Yeah, we know he’s been out seven weeks now, but he’s just not quite right yet. Trust us.”
The Bucks have played their young guards into the ground all year long, so much so that Kevin Porter Jr. has had to sit out a bunch of games now because of synovitis in the same knee he had meniscus surgery on earlier this season. They have closed with their best-performing unit in every game, even when that came at a political price (think of the number of games Sims has closed over Turner). I am sure the NBPA is aware of the league’s actual tankers, who’ve been closing games with their third-string unit for months now, right? Right?
Most importantly, Milwaukee has never even had a clear green light to tank anyway because they don’t own their first-round pick outright! There has always been the threat that finishing below New Orleans would mean Milwaukee would have to swap further back in the draft, so on the most basic level, trying to lose every game was never a cogent strategy. Sure, the Pelicans being horrible for most of the season has been calming for Bucks fans watching their team lose a bunch of games, but losing was never the team’s goal.
And sure, there is incentive now for the Bucks to tank the remaining games because, with so few left, the Pelicans are unlikely to rise higher than eighth in the lottery odds, and the Bucks can lock down ninth, but that incentive hasn’t come to bear until the last few days. And frankly, if Milwaukee wanted to do exactly that, they should have the full right to do so! After all, there are seven teams below them who have been egregiously tanking for months! I mean, some of these teams started weeks before the All-Star break! Like, what are we talking about here? The players association is calling out the Bucks of all teams? I’m not sure they’ve thought this one through.
There you have it, NBPA. Your statement is nonsensical garbage, and whoever wrote it should be embarrassed. Go take your tanking accusations and apply them to the teams who deserve them—there are plenty to choose from.
