'Don't Tackle Anybody,' Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Offers Hilarious Playoff Advice

The Milwaukee Bucks won the championship back in 2021, and have plenty of playoff experience at this point. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been at the forefront of their success, and has the experience to give out advice to younger players.

In a recent press conference in preparation for this year’s NBA playoffs, Giannis talked about his first appearance in the NBA playoffs and offered some hilarious advice for players entering the postseason

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“I remember my first playoffs, I got ejected. My first playoffs, I tackled somebody, so it doesn’t get worse than that,” Giannis said, chuckling in the process.

He is talking about the Bucks playoff series against the Chicago Bulls back in the 2014-2015 season. The Bucks were the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference that year and lost in six games.

In the sixth and final game of the series, the Bucks got blown out, and Giannis got ejected for shoulder checking Mike Dunleavy while he shot a three-pointer, a clear response out of frustration for the game at hand, which the Bucks went on to lose 120-66.

With Damian Lillard out injured to start the series and Khris Middleton shipped out, the Bucks have a different looking roster than previous seasons, with some young players on the roster the team may need to rely on.

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In what should be a difficult series for the Bucks as long as Lillard is out, while Giannis’s advice is more of a joke than legitimate advice, it is solid advice for any players on the roster with limited playoff experience.

If the Bucks go down early in the series, they need to avoid letting frustration overtake them, and figure out a way to adjust and learn to win without one of their top players. The Bucks should be a much worse offensive team without Lillard, so they will need some unsung heroes to step up on that end.

However, the team should actually be better defensively without Lillard, so that is likely their best chance to win the series. Keep a level head, and remain focused and locked in on the defensive end to slow down Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and the prolific Pacers offense.

These comments also highlight just how far Giannis has come as a player. In his first playoff appearance, he was an immature 20-year-old kid body-checking opponents out of frustration. Now, he is a perennial MVP candidate who is an NBA champion and capable of winning a playoff series on his own.

In a funny way, Giannis will need to listen to his own advice to ensure the Bucks have a chance to win each game in this series, especially if Lillard remains out long-term.

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