Milwaukee, WI

What do readers think about Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo playing for the Greek national team this summer?

Published

2 years ago

June 6, 2024

What do readers think about Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo playing for the Greek national team this summer?

In early July, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to be back on the court for the first time since suffering a left soleus (calf) strain on April 9 that ended his season. Antetokounmpo will suit up for the Greek national team during an Olympic qualifying tournament July 2-7, and should it advance will earn a spot in the Olympic Games for the first time since 2008.

He did not play for Greece in the 2023 World Cup as he underwent left knee surgery. Antetokounmpo played 73 games for the Bucks last season – his most since 2017-18 – and was the first player in NBA history to score at least 30 points per game while shooting at least 60% from the floor.

The 29-year-old missed the Bucks entire six-game playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers with the muscle strain. He missed two of the Bucks’ five games in a 2023 first-round playoff loss to Miami when he injured his back after being undercut by Heat forward Kevin Love after just 10 minutes of action in Game 1. He also suffered injuries in the 2020 and 2021 playoffs.

The Journal Sentinel recently ran a poll simply asking fans “should Giannis play for the Greek national team this summer?”

More: How Giannis Antetokounmpo learned to get over himself to play the best basketball of his career

Bucks fans react to Giannis playing for Greece

Of the Bucks fans weighing in on the poll, 62.8% said he should not play for Greek team this summer.

Why Giannis should play for Greece

Here is a sampling of some of the comments that came with “yes” votes (answers lightly edited for clarity):

Tony: Many NBA players are doing the same.

Mike B: He should be able to represent his country.

Mary S.: The US players are playing for their country.

Rich W.: It’s hard to believe you’re even asking this question. Giannis’ love of playing for his country is well documented. He has earned the right to make this decision without being questioned by Bucks fans, and it’s the worst sort of greed and entitlement to suggest he ignore the call of his national team.

Bill: He’s a professional basketball player at the peak of his powers. If the doctors clear him, it’s totally his decision.

Alex: Nationalism is a great thing. This is the prime of his career and he will have limited opportunities. Go Giannis!GP: Giannis needs to get back into basketball shape. Playing for the Greek national team can help facilitate that. His body should not be as tired since he did not play as much as in other years. He should probably be on minutes restrictions.

More: Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo named first-team all-NBA to cap historic season

Why Giannis should not play for Greece

Here is a sampling of some of the comments that came with “no” votes (answers lightly edited for clarity):

Jeremy: He missed all of this year’s playoffs and most of last year’s. Greece will not win anything special and he’s risking injury for all of this.

Jim C.: If he can’t make it to the playoffs because he is injured and tired, why risk it.

Mark B.: If he wasn’t often injured, fine, but the Bucks need Giannis healthy for a full season.

Bubba: The obvious. He was unable to make it through the last full NBA season. He should rest his body so he can actually contribute to the Bucks playoff run … which is what he gets paid for.

Peter: He wore down this season, international bb will leave G with no real off-season!

Tom: He’s paid to play for the Bucks and let’s face it, if he isn’t going to be healthy in the playoffs then what good is he to the team?!

Steve: He is always getting hurt. He doesn’t seem to realize that his body is starting to break down. He says he wants to stay healthy but yet he decides to put more stress on what is going to be a fragile body. Very ill-advised to go and play. Beginning to think that he really doesn’t care about the NBA. Seems like his heart is in Greece. He is not long to be in Milwaukee and a Buck. Getting tired of his antics.

What is Giannis’ history playing for Greece?

Antetokounmpo first played for Greece in the 2014 World Cup, in which it took ninth place. He then played in the 2015 EuroBasket tournament, the 2019 World Cup and 2022 EuroBasket.

In the 2014-15 Bucks season, Antetokounmpo started 71 of 81 games and finished seventh in the Most Improved Player voting after averaging 12.7 points per game. The Bucks lost in the first round of the playoffs in six games to Chicago.

In the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season, Antetokounmpo won his second MVP while also winning the defensive player of the year award, becoming just the third player to win both in a single season. He sprained an ankle in the “bubble” playoffs vs. Miami, however, and the Bucks were bounced in the second round.

In the 2022-23 campaign, Antetokounmpo finished the year averaging a career-high 31.1 points per game in leading the Bucks to the top-seed in the Eastern Conference. But after taking a hard fall in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series with Miami, the Bucks lost to the Heat in five games as Antetokounmpo missed Games 2 and 3.

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Milwaukee, WI

Admirals lose to IceHogs, comeback bid falls short in Rockford

Published

12 hours ago

December 13, 2025

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Admirals lose to IceHogs, comeback bid falls short in Rockford

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ROCKFORD, Ill. – Goalie Laurent Brossoit stopped 33 shots – and scored a goal – to lead the Rockford IceHogs to a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday.

The loss extended the Admirals losing streak to four games.

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By the numbers:

With goalie Matt Murray pulled, the Admirals dumped the puck into the IceHogs zone from the red line. Brossoit tracked it down behind his goal and sailed a shot into the empty Milwaukee cage at 18:56 of the final frame.

The teams waited until the second period to start scoring goals. IceHogs forward Nick Lardis started the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 1:18 of the second frame. He sent a wrist shot from the slot into the net just as Milwaukee had two players leave the penalty box.

Just 0:33 later, Rockford’s Brett Seney exited the penalty box and grabbed a loose puck at the Admirals blue line. He moved to the right circle and sent a shot over the glove of Admirals goalie Matt Murray at 1:51.

Milwaukee got on the board with a power-play goal at 4:56 of the second frame. Oasiz Wiesblatt skated with the puck from the left point to the right circle and slid a pass to the crease. Daniel Carr redirected the puck past IceHogs goalie Brossoit for his team-leading tenth goal of the season, and seventh on the power play. Wiesblatt and Joakim Kemell assisted.

Rockford scored two more before the close of the second period. Martin Misiak scored his first pro goal at 15:39 and Jamie Engelbert added a 4-on-4 goal at 18:45 to give the IceHogs a 4-1 lead after two frames.

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The Admirals cut the deficit to 4-2 when Jake Lucchini scored his sixth goal of the season at 11:21 of the third period. Lucchini slammed a rebound of a Jordan Oesterle shot into the net. Cole O’Hara and Oesterle were awarded assists.

The Ads got within one just :36 later when O’Hara shot a blocked puck into the net from the right circle. Oesterle and Ryan Ufko assisted on the goal at 11:57 of the third period.

Milwaukee returns to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena to host the Chicago Wolves on Saturday, Dec. 13.

The Source: The Milwaukee Admirals provided this report.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee parents sue MPS saying staff member locked students in ‘dungeon’ as punishment

Published

24 hours ago

December 12, 2025

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Milwaukee parents sue MPS saying staff member locked students in ‘dungeon’ as punishment

Children at Thurston Woods School in Milwaukee were locked in a boiler room as a punishment, a group of parents say in a recently filed lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 8 in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court’s civil division by three sets of parents. The Milwaukee Board of School Directors is among the defendants.

The parents claim in court papers several employees at the K4-8 elementary school on North 35th Street sent kids to the boiler room if they misbehaved.

Some of those staff members, as well as students, referred to the boiler room as “The Dungeon,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims a former male paraprofessional at the school locked three students in a boiler room multiple times during the 2022-’23 and 2023-’24 school years.

In the lawsuit, the parents said the “dungeon” presented a serious hazard to the children because of the potential exposure to “chemicals, cleaning agents, boilers, and other machinery.”

The paraprofessional resigned in November 2023 after he was investigated for violating several school district policies. At the time, he told district officials he placed the students in the room as a scare tactic, the lawsuit states.

Among the defendants is former assistant principal Dennis Daniels.

He pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge of attempted misconduct in public office after failing to alert police that an 11-year-old student brought a gun to school in February 2024.

He initially was charged with a felony, but brokered a deal with prosecutors to instead plead to an amended lesser charge.

“Milwaukee Public Schools is committed to maintaining safe and welcoming learning environments for all students and staff,” Stephen Davis, an MPS spokesman, said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, the district thoroughly investigated this matter in 2023 and took appropriate disciplinary action which included termination of employment.”

In a statement, Milwaukee attorney Drew DeVinney, who represents the parents, described the alleged behavior of school staff as “disbursing and egregious,” and that it appeared no one intervened to stop it.

He urged other families to come forward if they also were impacted.

“Concerningly, MPS did not report any of these instances of seclusion and restraint to the Department of Public Instruction, in violation of Wisconsin law.

“We hope that this lawsuit will serve as a vehicle to prevent further incidents and abuse, and to obtain justice for our clients.”

Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@gannett.com.

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5 takeaways: Horrific second half spells doom for Celtics in Milwaukee

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

5 takeaways: Horrific second half spells doom for Celtics in Milwaukee

The Celtics have been on a heater recently, and midway through the second quarter against the Bucks on Thursday, it appeared they were going to cruise to a sixth straight win.

That all changed rather quickly as Boston would go on to miss 16 straight threes, losing in rather embarrassing fashion to a Milwaukee team without Giannis Antetokounmpo and who had lost 10 of its last 12.

Here are five takeaways from the loss…

Staying hot

As mentioned above, it wasn’t a night where Boston just didn’t have it — it was actually quite the opposite. The Celtics connected on 10 of their first 17 threes, with Jordan Walsh and Payton Pritchard each hitting a pair to build a 21-8 lead.

Midway through the second quarter, Boston was shooting 56% from the floor and 53% from deep, going up by as many as 14 in the quarter.

That all came crashing down in the blink of an eye.

Walsh’s efficient run continues

Walsh was once again why Boston was finding success on both ends of the floor against the Bucks in the first half.

The 21-year-old forward was perfect from the floor in the first half, connecting on all seven of his shots — including three triples — to score 18. Walsh also snagged three steals as his defensive energy continued to shine.

At the half, Walsh was 27-for-32 in his last five games, good for 82% from the floor. Like the rest of the Celtics, Walsh didn’t do much in the second half, finishing with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting, but his offensive effectiveness continues to be impressive given where he was even two months ago.

Can’t hold a lead

The Celtics held a double digit lead on three separate occasions on Thursday night, and all three times that lead evaporated in just minutes.

When you have a team like Milwaukee, who have lost 10 of its last 12 and appear to be on the verge of losing one of the best players in the NBA, it isn’t hard to knock them out rather quickly. But each time the Celtics went up, they let go of the rope just enough to give the Bucks — and their half empty arena — some life.

A big part of that was Kyle Kuzma exploding for a season high 31 points. The journeyman forward went toe-to-toe with Jaylen Brown all night, getting the better of the superstar on multiple occasions.

Once that third double-digit lead shrank to nothing, Boston didn’t have enough to muster another one.

Brutal shooting

As is often the story with Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics, once the threes stop going in, the ship usually starts sinking.

That’s exactly what happened in the second half on Thursday night.

Boston missed 16 straight triples, which is good for the fourth longest streak in franchise history. During that cold streak the Bucks went on a 27-8 run en route to blowing out the Celtics.

The worst shooting offender of all was probably Sam Hauser, who missed all 10 of his attempts, seven of those coming from beyond the arc.

After scoring 67 points in the first half, Boston only put up 34 in the second half.

Bobby Portis goes nuclear

When you combine horrific shooting with 30-year-old Bobby Portis pouring in 27 points off the bench, it probably isn’t going to end well for you. Portis scored 18 in the second half, with two corner threes to open the fourth basically being the dagger for the Bucks.

The forward also wasn’t afraid to go after it with Brown, even drawing a technical foul after getting a little too close for comfort.

Portis also grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double.

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