Giannis Antetokounmpo responds to home fans' jeers by booing back

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Giannis Antetokounmpo responds to home fans' jeers by booing back

Giannis Antetokounmpo responds to home fans' jeers by booing back

Steve Gardner, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Wed, Jan 14, 2026 ·

2 min read

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Frustrations seemed to boil over in Milwaukee as the Bucks were trounced by the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

Down by more than 30 points at halftime, fans at Fiserv Forum sent their team into the locker room with a chorus of boos.

With that memory fresh in his mind, star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo − after being fouled while making the first basket of the second half − gave the crowd a thumbs-down gesture and offered some boos of his own before he stepped to the free throw line.

"Whenever I get booed, I boo back," Antetokounmpo explained to reporters after the 139-106 loss .

It was the same gesture Giannis has offered fans in opposing cities several times this season, but he said it was the first time he could ever remember being booed in his home arena.

"When people don't believe in me, I don't tend to be with them. I tend to do what I'm here to do, what I'm good at. ... It won't change home or away. But yeah, I've never been a part of something like that before and I don't think it's fair," Antetokounmpo said.

"I'm not going to tell them what to do and how they should act when we don't play hard. Or when we lose games, or when we're not where we're supposed to be. I don't think anybody has the right to tell me how I should act on (a) basketball court after I've been here 13 years. And I'm basically the all-time leader in everything."

Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks' Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors' Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.
(Jerome Miron, Imagn Images)

Oct. 26: The Washington Wizards' Cam Whitmore dunks the ball against the Charlotte Hornets at Capital One Arena.
(Rafael Suanes, Imagn Images)

Oct. 26: The Brooklyn Nets' Michael Porter Jr. dunks in front of the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama at Frost Bank Center.

(Daniel Dunn, Imagn Images)

Oct. 25: The Denver Nuggets' Christian Braun dunks the ball against the Phoenix Suns' Grayson Allen at Ball Arena.
(Christopher Hanewinckel, Imagn Images)

Oct. 24: The Memphis Grizzlies' Jaren Jackson Jr. dunks against the Miami Heat at FedExForum.
(Petre Thomas, Imagn Images)

Oct. 24: The Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo dunks over the Memphis Grizzlies' Jaren Jackson Jr. at FedExForum.
(Petre Thomas, Imagn Images)

Oct. 22: The New York Knicks' OG Anunoby goes up for a reverse dunk against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden.
(Brad Penner, Imagn Images)

Oct. 22: The Utah Jazz's Lauri Markkanen dunks against the Los Angeles Clippers at Delta Center.
(Rob Gray, Imagn Images)

Antetokounmpo finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Bucks lost their second consecutive game, falling to 17-23 on the season.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Giannis Antetokounmpo boos Bucks fans in blowout loss to Timberwolves