Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks miffed that they were left off NBA’s Christmas day slate: ‘I’m pissed’

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Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard bring the star power that the NBA likes to showcase on its annual Christmas day schedule.

But they won’t be playing this Christmas. And Bucks players including Antetokounmpo are miffed that they weren’t invited to league’s annual holiday party. They spoke about their Christmas snub with The Athletic’s Eric Nehm for an article published Monday.

“I’m a little bit upset or kind of questioning it,” Antetokounmpo said. “But I really believe there’s probably an algorithm that takes place within the NBA that shows who is the most attractive team or which team gets the most attention for them to be able to play in the Christmas game. …

“We don’t get a Christmas game. Why? Because we got a small market? Maybe that’s the case. Or I want to believe what I tell you, I think there’s an algorithm within the NBA that they choose which team will get the most attention, the most viewership that day.”

Khris Middleton, who’s been with the Bucks alongside Antetokounmpo for six consecutive Christmas day games, called the snub “disappointing.”

“Definitely disappointing,” Middleton said. “We always want to play on Christmas. It’s the biggest day in the NBA besides the playoffs and the finals and whatnot.

“But I have a family now and kids, so now I can have a chance to open gifts without having to work the same day, so I’m definitely happy about that. But hopefully we won’t have too many more Christmases where we don’t play again.”

‘It’s disrespectful’

Bucks center Brook Lopez took it a step further. He takes being left off the Christmas schedule as a sign of disrespect from the NBA.

“A lot of teams play on Christmas, so it’s not like it’s two or four teams and we gotta figure out who we’re going to pick in these spots,” Lopez said. “No, they have a lot of games on Christmas. So, yeah, I do think it’s disrespectful, but I don’t make the schedule. I don’t know how that happened.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo is ‘pissed’ about Milwaukee’s Christmas schedule snub. But he also sees the bright side. (Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images)

So, who should be left out in…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/giannis-antetokounmpo-bucks-miffed-that-they-were-left-off-nbas-christmas-day-slate-im-pissed-213721947.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-23 21:37:00

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