Through his first 12 seasons on the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo has cemented himself as one of the greatest basketball players of this generation. In 2021, he led the franchise to their second-ever title and unanimously won the Finals MVP award.
Last Friday, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on First Take that Antetokounmpo has ‘underachieved’ if he doesn’t win another title. He said that even with Antetokounmpo’s skill on the court, his one ring doesn’t line up with his regular-season performances.
“You don’t look at somebody that dominant, that fantastic, with that kind of fire in his belly to compete on a night in night out basis,” Smith said. “And all you have is one championship to show for it.”
On Monday’s First Take episode, former NBA player Jay Williams criticized Smith, calling his take ‘horrible’ and ‘one of his worst of all time.’
Antetokounmpo is a nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA selection, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and two-time regular-season MVP. He has finished in the top five of MVP voting in each of the past seven years, joined only by LeBron James among active players with that consistency.
Williams Defends Antetokounmpo
After the show replayed Smith’s scrutiny of Antetokounmpo from last Friday, Williams stepped in to defend the Bucks’ all-time leading scorer.
“The fact that he brought an NBA championship to Milwaukee, to Milwaukee, in the midst of the fire that he did,” Williams said. “To call him an underachiever is an asinine comment.”
Williams also stated that putting the ‘underachiever’ tag on the Bucks organization would be more of a fair comment. He added that Smith’s comment unfairly labels players like Allen Iverson, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, and Oscar Robertson the same way.
“In your mind if they don’t win more than one, if their career ends with only one championship…Which just sounds crazy to say, that (it) would have a negative connotation in it,” Williams said. “There’s no way that anybody who watches basketball, who knows the level of greatness that comes along with Giannis, would say that he’s an underachiever.”
In response, Smith said that Williams didn’t understand what he was trying to say. He said that Antetokounmpo was an all-time great, but with just one championship, people wouldn’t view him the same way. Smith cited Aaron Rodgers‘ career as a comparison to Antetokounmpo’s.
“You knew that they were so great, so you expected more,” Smith said to Williams. “We lament what hasn’t been achieved. I’m not saying it’s fair, I’m not saying it’s right.”
Smith and Williams went back and forth on the topic for a few minutes. Smith said that he wasn’t ‘throwing shade’ on Antetokounmpo, while Williams retorted that response.
Antetokounmpo Responds Amidst Trade Rumors
In an Instagram story posted on Monday afternoon, Antetokounmpo shared a screenshot of a post highlighting his journey and accomplishments in response to Smith’s quote. He put the ‘100%’ and ‘fire’ emojis next to the response.
Before Smith’s latest comments, Antetokounmpo was reportedly exploring whether being traded would be best for his career. However, according to NBA insiders and recent reports, he is likely to remain in Milwaukee for at least next season.
Antetokounmpo signed a three-year $175 million contract extension with the Bucks in October 2023. The deal kicks in this offseason and will last until the end of the 2027-28 season.
Most recently, the Bucks lost in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs to the Indiana Pacers. While Antetokounmpo excelled, Damian Lillard tore his Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the series, ruining Milwaukee’s chances of a deep run.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Antetokounmpo Responds To Stephen A’s ‘Underachiever’ Tag appeared first on Heavy Sports.