MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo loves to turn his postgame press conferences into stand-up comedy sets. Following the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 133-120 win (box score) over the Washington Wizards in their season opener on Wednesday, he joked about building chemistry with his new frontcourt partner, Myles Turner.
“Six months ago, he hated me,” Antetokounmpo said. “OK, hate is a very strong word, but I didn’t like him either.”
Humor is often a way to share uncomfortable truths, and Antetokounmpo’s quip was no exception. The Bucks stole Turner away from their rivals, the Indiana Pacers, in a stunning free agency coup this summer. (The move was made possible by waiving Damian Lillard and using the stretch provision on his contract.) In recent years, there has been genuine animosity between the Bucks and Pacers, and Antetokounmpo has often been at the center of the drama.
Back in December of 2023, Antetokounmpo chased the Pacers into their tunnel and accused them of stealing the game ball after he scored a Bucks franchise-record 64 points. Last season, after the Pacers eliminated the Bucks from the playoffs for the second year in a row, Antetokounmpo got into a confrontation with Tyrese Haliburton’s dad, after what Antetokounmpo deemed a “disrespectful” exchange on the court.
There are no current issues between the two big men as far as we know, but Turner is not just any new player. It’s going to take time for this new frontcourt to gel.
“If I sit here and I say in the second game [we’ve played together], yeah, our communication and our chemistry is incredible, I’m lying,” Antetokounmpo said. “But we have 81 games to get there. I think he’s a high character guy, he’s an incredible leader, he takes feedback and so do I. You communicate something to me, I’ll take it and try to do my best. As long as we’re like that as leaders, it’s gonna happen. It’s a matter of time. And not just me and him, me and the whole team.”
Turner’s debut was not perfect — he shot just 4 of 12 from the field, including 2 of 8 from 3-point range — but he finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks in his 29 minutes of action. A few minutes in, he made the play of the night with a thunderous slam from the baseline.
That dunk showed exactly why the Bucks were so eager to replace Brook Lopez with Turner this summer. Lopez will always be a beloved figure in Milwaukee, but he was never a high-flyer and had gotten noticeably slower last season. Turner can provide a similar level of rim protection and floor spacing at the 5 in a much more athletic frame, which will help the Bucks keep up with younger and faster opponents.
“Sometimes he’s gonna shoot the 3, sometimes he’s gonna pump fake it, get into the paint and make the right pass, and sometimes he’s gonna dunk on somebody’s head,” Antetokounmpo said of Turner’s highlight. “I haven’t seen a play like that in a while from somebody with a Bucks jersey.”
A few more plays like that, and Antetokounmpo and Turner will be fast friends.
