Shaquille O’Neal cites ‘letter of law’ to dispute Billionaire Mark Cuban’s take on Giannis Antetokounmpo vs Pacers rookie ‘game ball’ dispute

Giannis Antetokounmpo surpassed NBA icon Bob Cousy to take the 100th spot on the all-time scoring list in the league.

Shaquille O’Neal cites ‘letter of law’ to dispute Billionaire Mark Cuban’s take on Giannis Antetokounmpo vs Pacers rookie ‘game ball’ dispute

Shaquille O'Neal, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mark Cuban (Credits: Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports and The Software Report)

Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo scored the most points in the team’s history—64—against the Pacers. The Pacers had taken the game ball, a physical representation of Giannis’ historic performance, in an odd and contentious decision. NBA great Shaquille O’Neal could relate to Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Milwaukee Bucks superstar was upset about what he saw as disrespect from the Indiana Pacers.

Shaquille O’Neal supported Antetokounmpo in an interview with TMZ Sports on Thursday. Earlier, Mark Cuban criticized Giannis for attempting to take the game ball from rookie Oscar Tshibwe. The Pacers rookie had just scored his first point in his career. However, Shaq came to the defense of Giannis saying the Bucks Superstar had every right to be angry about the circumstances.

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This is what Shaquille O’Neal said:

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I think by the letter of the law, if you’re playing at home, you should get the ball in both circumstances. But, you know, I think Giannis had the right to be upset. In Gianni's voice, ‘Hey, We’re in Milwaukee, I just made history, I want the ball.’ And you know, he went after the ball.

Shaquille O’Neal via TMZ Sports

Shaq backed Giannis with his words and made it clear it was his utmost right to have the ball. After the game, the Pacers took the game ball and passed it to rookie Oscar Tshiebwe. When Giannis realized what had happened, he became enraged and confronted the Pacers in the locker room area. After that, he went outside to the court and argued with some Indiana coaches and Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton.

Giannis Antetokounmpo issues a warning to the Indiana Pacers after not receiving the game ball

Giannis Antetokounmpo, star player for the Milwaukee Bucks, knows that the Indiana Pacers are a serious team. And are not going away anytime soon. His squad needs to be ready for when they play again on January 2, 2024. He probably marked the date on his calendar, even though he might not admit it after the game ball issue.

Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Credits: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

This is what Giannis Antetokounmpo in the post-game Press conference:

At the end of the day, good team. They played extremely hard. They have a great coach, they’re very well coached. And we know that we are going to see them in January again, and we know that they’re going to play at their best, and we gotta be ready.
Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Indiana Pacers

In a 113-11 loss to the Utah Jazz on November 11, 2006, Michael Redd set a franchise record of 57 points. Giannis’s new scoring record surpassed the record held by Redd. With over 17,000 career points. He passed NBA legend Bob Cousy to move up to 100th place on the all-time scoring list in the NBA.

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