Myles Turner’s loose lips showed just how much of a sinking ship the Milwaukee Bucks were this season — with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the forefront of it all.
The Bucks’ star center, signed to a four-year, $108.9 million deal last offseason in a shocking move after the Pacers let him walk, told “Game Recognize Game” podcast co-host Breanna Stewart that Milwaukee had many problems under the hood, including tardiness.
“Bro, we literally — if the plane took off at 2 o’clock, we weren’t leaving until 4:30,” Turner said on the latest podcast. “I’m being so serious, bro. It was crazy. Guys were hours late to the plane. It got to the point where I just knew not to show up until like an hour after they said the plane was taking off. It was crazy.”
When Stewart asked who the biggest infringer was, Turner had one name on the tip of his tongue.
“That’s easy: Giannis,” he said. “Giannis is gonna show up whenever he wants really, you know? I think that it kinda just came with the territory. And once I saw what was going down, I was like ‘Hey, man, more power to you. They ain’t gonna fine you. Do what you do.’”
When Stewart, star of the WNBA’s Liberty, said her new coach Chris DeMarco added a fine system that includes $25 penalties for missed free-throw box-outs, Turner added that now ex-Bucks coach Doc Rivers, who has since retired, “didn’t fine anyone ever.”
“Guys were showing up to film whenever they wanted to show up; guys were missing meetings. It was one of the craziest things I’ve personally ever experienced,” Turner said.
On other teams, he said, players were fined regularly.
Taylor Jenkins, the Bucks’ new coach, will need to make changes following a horrific 32-50 regular season.
Antetokounmpo appears likely to be traded this offseason, given the extent of the dysfunction Turner described, as well as public comments from front office executives when the team introduced Jenkins.
“We will do what’s best for Giannis and what’s best for the organization,” Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said during a press conference to introduce Jenkins. “We don’t know whether Giannis will stay with us or not, but we’ll work through that with Giannis in the coming weeks.”
The expectation is that a solution to this incoherent situation will be found before the 2026 NBA Draft in June.
Antetokounmpo has been publicly upset with the franchise that held him out to end the season due to injuries, public stating that he was healthy enough to play.
His next team odds have the Celtics as the primary option to trade for his services, should he be dealt this offseason.
