Giannis Antetokounmpo calls out Tyrese Haliburton’s dad for ‘disrespectful’ postgame spat

Giannis Antetokounmpo felt disrespected by Tyrese Haliburton’s father, John, over the postgame confrontation they got into, though the Bucks star said they had spoken afterward and were “in a good place.”

The Pacers defeated the Bucks, 119-118, in Indianapolis with Haliburton hitting the go-ahead basket with a little more than one second on the clock. 

John and Antetokounmpo were seen on the NBA TV broadcast having to be separated by arena personnel and other players after the two men got into a heated confrontation, which the Bucks star later said started when John had come onto the floor waving a towel with Haliburton’s face on it and shouting “this is what we f–king do.” 

“I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,” Antetokounmpo said. “Having somebody’s dad, which I’m happy for him and happy for his son and I’m happy that he’s happy for his son thats how you’re supposed to feel. But coming to me and disrespecting and cursing I think it’s totally unacceptable. … It’s not respectful.” 

The two were seen a second time, seeming to shake hands and have a brief conversation, which at times seemed to be a bit more animated. 

Antetokounmpo patted his chest and gave a thumbs-up in John’s direction before walking away. 

“I talked with him at the end, and I think we’re in a good place,” Antetokounmpo added. 

Haliburton wasn’t aware of the encounter until he was back in the locker room and saw video of what happened. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a postgame moment with Tyrese Haliburton’s dad on Tuesday night.

While addressing the matter with reporters, he said that he didn’t agree with what had happened.

“I talked to my pops after, and I don’t agree with what transpired there from him,” Haliburton said. “He needs to just allow me to play basketball. I’ll talk with Giannis about it. I don’t think my pops was right.”

The Indiana victory sends the Pacers to the second round to face the Cavaliers. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo said he thought it was disrespectful.

The Bucks will head into the offseason with plenty of questions, with the one big one being whether Antetokounmpo may have just played his last game in a Bucks uniform.