Giannis Antetokounmpo sends defiant message to teammates during Bucks' slump says, 'We’re gonna lose by 30...'

The Milwaukee Bucks appeared to be turning their season around after a strong victory over the Utah Jazz, but a disappointing 116-94 loss to the New York Knicks has set them back once again. After the game, Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't hold back, delivering a blunt message to his teammates about the team’s performance.

The Bucks had hoped their 2-6 record could be a springboard to better results, but the loss to the Knicks quickly dampened that optimism.

Antetokounmpo made it clear what the team needs to do to improve, emphasizing the importance of effort in every game. He said, “Did we compete the previous game? Yes. Did we compete the two [games before that]? Yes. Did we compete today? No... If you don’t compete your a— off, you’re not going to win the game. [You have to] at least give yourself a chance.”

“We came to New York after playing great last night,” We come here, we lose by 30. Are you OK with not competing? I know I’m not OK with that s—. We’ve got Boston in two days. We don’t compete, we’re gonna lose by 30," he said.

Antetokounmpo added that the Bucks can’t expect games to be handed to them: “Teams are not just gonna give us games. They’re not gonna feel bad for us. We’ve gotta compete every single possession. Every loose ball, we’ve gotta get a body on the floor & put it on the line. We didn’t compete at all.”

Damian Lillard, who has been alongside Antetokounmpo as a leader for the Bucks, also weighed in on the team's struggles after his own off-game against the Knicks. Lillard admitted, “I think everybody’s frustrated. When you’re in the type of situation we’re in — losing games and trying to find yourself, find your identity — I think everybody’s frustrated. You don’t want guys in here happy... We got to understand what we’re doing and what it looks like when we’re having success, and that starts with playing hard and competing.”

Despite the team’s struggles early in the season, Antetokounmpo voiced support for head coach Doc Rivers, who is still searching for the right rotations. He believes "Doc is doing his best. He’s trying to figure out the rotation... I give him props on that. At the end of the day, the guys that play, we got to go out there and compete. He cannot compete from the sidelines for us.”