Giannis Antetokounmpo's brother Thanasis makes feelings known about controversial LaMelo Ball play
Thanasis Antetokounmpo may no longer be on the Milwaukee Bucks roster, but he remains a vocal supporter of his brother Giannis Antetokounmpo and his former team on social media. The Bucks faced a controversial loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, with many fans believing a questionable foul call cost them the game.
In the closing seconds, LaMelo Ball drove into the paint, tripped, and fell, yet a whistle was blown for a foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo. Ball converted both free throws, which turned out to be the game-winning points.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Thanasis criticized the officiating, highlighting how the Bucks have repeatedly suffered from questionable calls in the final moments of games.
“Everyone makes mistakes. Players, coaches, refs. We're all human! But this needs to be explained, especially after two games in a row,” Thanasis said.
The Bucks suffered a similar scare during their 127-120 overtime win against the Detroit Pistons, where Giannis Antetokounmpo was called for a foul after a block attempt on Ron Holland II's dunk. Holland missed both free throws, and the Bucks eked out the win in overtime.
In the Hornets game, Giannis had a chance to win it on the final possession with an 18-foot step-back jumper, but the shot missed, and Charlotte secured the rebound to clinch the victory.
Damian Lillard questions L2M report on controversial Giannis Antetokounmpo foul
Damian Lillard, who did not play against the Hornets, expressed his frustration via Instagram after the L2M (Last Two-Minute) report confirmed the foul call against Giannis was incorrect. According to the report, no illegal contact occurred on the play.
The Bucks were unable to challenge the call during the game, as they had already used their challenge earlier. However, the postgame L2M report acknowledged the error:
“During live play we called illegal leg to leg contact. During postgame review when we looked at the play there was no illegal contact on the play,” the report read.
The report also noted that if the Bucks had been able to challenge the play, the call would have been overturned.
Despite the acknowledgment, Lillard expressed his dissatisfaction with the L2M report's inability to change the outcome of the game.
“How does this help when the game has been lost?” he said.
The Bucks entered the game on a two-game winning streak but dropped to 4-9 with the loss, placing them 12th in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Hornets improved to 5-7, moving up to eighth in the standings.