”The NBA should be watching!” - Mike Budenholzer suggests the league should toughen rules to protect Giannis Antetokounmpo

Over the years, the NBA has done a lot to protect its players. They punish hard fouls seriously, and they take strict action on flagrant fouls. Still, sometimes the refs miss the most blatant calls, particularly on superstars. Some of those superstars are a nightmare to guard, especially in the paint because of how dominant and physically imposing they are. One of the biggest examples among them is Giannis Antetokounmpo, the best player in the world right now.

It is almost impossible to stop Giannis, so teams resort to hard physicality and cheap shots. Sometimes, it leads to hard hits, a few of which are rather extreme. But the Bucks' head coach Mike Budenholzer has had enough of this, asking the league to step in.

Coach Bud steps in for Giannis

Giannis was hammered multiple times on his way to the basket in the most recent game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Some of them were hard fouls, and Mike Budenholzer did not like them. He was livid during the game also and his post-game press conference.

"The shot the other night in Philly was a significant shot, they don't upgrade that. I just think sometimes the hits that Giannis is taking, the league needs to look at, the league needs to protect him. It's not just him, anybody takes those hits, the league needs to protect players," Budenholzer explained.

Coach Bud does not want his star player to get hurt as he is an integral part of the team. When you look at it as a whole, the league would lose a good chunk of viewership if Giannis went down.

We have seen stars miss a long time due to injury. And with so many games still left, the Bucks or the league can't afford to lose Antetokounmpo.

Giannis likes the physicality

Despite Budenholzer's post-game, rant Giannis played down his coach's concerns. He admitted he had been taking a lot of hard hits, but it was basketball at the end of the day.

"I've said it multiple times, I enjoy physicality, I enjoy putting my body on the line. It puts a fire under my belly, it wakes me up," Giannis explained.

Giannis may embrace the physicality, but he must be careful as this is just the start of a long season. He will not want to miss any more games due to injury, as the Milwaukee Bucks' season depends on him.