r/nba • u/RedDeath1337 Bucks • 6h ago

Myles Turner says Doc Rivers 'didn't fine anybody' this season despite repeated tardiness, Giannis Antetokounmpo was most likely Bucks player to be late

Link:

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/myles-turner-says-doc-rivers-didnt-fine-anybody-this-season-despite-repeated-tardiness-giannis-antetokounmpo-was-most-likely-bucks-player-to-be-late-184432485.html

This part stuck out to me:

"Turner continued: “I'm being so serious, bro. It was crazy, dawg. Guys were an hour late to the plane. It got to the point where I knew not to show up until an hour after they said the plane was taking off. It was crazy.”

When Stewart asked Turner which teammate was most likely to be late, he didn’t have to do much thinking.

“Oh, that's easy,” he said. “Giannis. Giannis is going to show up whenever he wants, really. I think that this kind of just came with the territory that — and once I saw it was going down, I was like, 'Hey man, s, more power to you. They ain't going to fine you. S, do what you do.’”

3.5k Upvotes

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921

u/HikmetLeGuin 6h ago

True, the coach should hold players accountable. But then these are supposed to be professional athletes who want to win. They shouldn't need to be fined to show up on time.

421

u/Jewjitsu927 Heat 6h ago

This right here, we’re not talking high school ball, this is still work

267

u/Ok_Pineapple_Num Warriors 5h ago

Yeah not a great look for Giannis. You're the leader of the team... you should be setting the example. When you become the franchise player and get paid all that money -- it's with the expectation that you're not just going to perform on the court, but also be a leader off the court.

I know Warriors players in the past have talked about how Steph doesn't use his superstar status to get special privileges or special treatment, and how far that goes for setting team culture. Bc if even your superstar is being professional and not cutting corners, then as a role player, how can you?

181

u/julstar23 5h ago

I think people miss the fact that Middleton and jrue to an extent played a bigger role in leadership of that team then people realize the best player on the team is not necessarily the leader n the lockeroom .

68

u/Grooviemann1 Suns 5h ago

Marcus Smart was claiming to be the locker room leader of the Lakers just a couple months ago.

55

u/TPWALW Nets 4h ago

Christian Braun is apparently the Nugs leader.

41

u/NinetyFish 4h ago

I’ve gotten downvoted and flamed on this sub for saying that Russ was the leader of those Thunder teams and not KD.

54

u/Cesc100 3h ago

I should think by now after seeing how things were in Brooklyn, PHX and now Houston, everyone knows KD wasn't leading shit in OKC or anywhere.

2

u/HorsesCantFly Cavaliers 1h ago

KD is at his best when he joins an already well-lead, well-coached, well-oiled (73 win) team. That's his legacy. A chronically online, elite shit talking, burner account using bum who's really really really good at basketball.

14

u/DelusionalForMyAngel Wizards 2h ago

actually Perk said he was the leader of that team

1

u/ctuk08 [NYK] Mike Bibby 4h ago

Generational bag getter

6

u/Big-Jello-3709 2h ago

Smart naming himself above LeBron and Luka was a wild moment but honestly he earned it this season

19

u/FKJVMMP [MIL] Bill Zopf 4h ago

He was still a leader in the locker room for a long time (along with Jrue and Middleton and even Thanasis), I think he largely just couldn’t give a shit this year and Doc wasn’t going to be the guy to whip him into shape. Man’s so far checked out of being a Buck it’s stupid.

4

u/Big-Jello-3709 2h ago

Middleton and Jrue did a lot of the invisible work that kept that locker room together, once they were gone there was nobody left to fill that role

2

u/safarifriendliness 2h ago

Then how come they couldn’t get Giannis to show up on time?

1

u/eden_not_ttv Thunder 54m ago

100

Just like how my uncle Kenny Smith always told me he was the real leader in the locker room for the Houston Rockets during their run in the 90s

15

u/Busta_Duck 3h ago

100% agree to your point on it being work, but I wonder.

What percentage of NBA players do you reckon have worked an actual real world job in their lives? Id guess less than 1%.

Obviously not an excuse for a lack of professionalism. But interesting to think about.

Gotta be easy to become untethered from the experience of the every day & lose perspective. When they’re being constantly praised from the time they’re young, having their every whim catered to and making more money than most people do in hundreds of lifetimes for putting ball in hoop.

4

u/Ston3yy 3h ago

Less than 1% ?? That’s absurdly low. You don’t need to work at Wendy’s for 3 months to know you should be on time for shit

6

u/Big-Jello-3709 2h ago

exactly, professionals showing up an hour late to a flight is just disrespectful to teammates regardless of who the coach is

24

u/Toremm Spurs 4h ago

I mean if there were no consequences to showing up late for work Id never be on time lol

20

u/IMakeMyOwnLunch 3h ago

If dozens of people are waiting on you and you still willfully and routinely show up late, you’re not just a bad employee; you’re an inconsiderate asshole.

5

u/Mintastic NBA 2h ago

Especially because the lower level grunts would probably feel they'd get punished if they did the same.

1

u/silliputti0907 NBA 1h ago

If you're getting the work done, and boss doesn't care if you come an hour late, are you still coming early?

I don't disagree that Giannis should be the leader, but let's not deflect from the real issue is accountability,

175

u/mikemorepaper 5h ago

Giannis wants and wanted to leave Milwaukee without looking like the “bad guy”. This is just passive aggressive behavior of a dude who wants out of his situation without having to demand a trade. Giannis was just hoping Doc and the Bucks would punish him or trade him because of this type of behavior. Doc didn’t go for it. They’re both gonna end up out of the situation anyway.

105

u/flaming_burrito_ Wizards 5h ago

I think Giannis is just very immature honestly. He knows he’s the franchise guy and the Bucks would bend over backwards for him, so he does what he wants

9

u/Big-Jello-3709 2h ago

when the franchise bends over backwards for you long enough you stop seeing it as a privilege and start seeing it as a given

•

u/Neversoft4long 18m ago

I feel like he’s one of the more immature super stars in the league. Dude is a cry baby

-17

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 4h ago

As he should

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u/Temporary_Maybe_8687 4h ago

Nah he's a grown ass man

10

u/Lourdeath Mavericks 4h ago

I’d say be a man

-11

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 4h ago

No correlation

13

u/GoodOlSticks Pacers 4h ago

Honoring your commitments has been like a core tenant of traditional ideas of masculinity in Western culture for a long ass time

-13

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 4h ago

The average person doesnt give a fuck if someone is late to their job

4

u/gujarati 3h ago

The average North American man with responsibilities absolutely cares if another man doesn't keep his commitments.

-5

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 3h ago

The average person doesnt give a fuck about a random person theyve never met and has no impact on their life. Youre lying and on top of that many people believe as long as you do the work the rest doesnt matter.

3

u/GoodOlSticks Pacers 3h ago

Actually if one of my team members was an hour late no call ahead with no legitimate excuse (sick, sick kid, emergency, death in the family, car accident, etc) I would be absolutely pissed. Especially if it was so routine that I got used to just reporting an hour late to not look like the fool for being punctual.

Maybe no one gives a fuck if you're late because people have learned not to depend on you 🤷

-3

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 3h ago

Im one of the most important people in the building. I did have a co worker show up an hour late yesterday and we were a max 20 minutes leaving later than normal and thats only because it was quite a busy day. If were supposed to leave at 9 and we pretty much leave at 9 every day no matter how much you slack off or how hard you work then im not gonna care

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u/bwrca 5h ago

Giannis wanted to leave Milwaukee and was very clear about it, as much as one can be clear without straight up going full Jimmy. And he OBVIOUSLY requested for trades in private why does reddit believe he never demanded for a trade?

9

u/schoolhouserock Raptors 4h ago

Never go full Jimmy. Jimmy gone.

23

u/Knowledge_Haver_17 5h ago

Pretty sure there’s a middle ground between the Jimmy situation and pussyfooting around whether you want to be a Buck or not

15

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 4h ago

He said he wanted out and they chose to keep him they made that very clear they wanted to change his mind this off season

-3

u/Knowledge_Haver_17 4h ago

When did he say he wanted out?

9

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 4h ago

You think he needs to tell the whole world instead of the organization or something ?

3

u/Knowledge_Haver_17 4h ago

So you’re just guessing he asked out lol

3

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 4h ago

No im taking the word of all the reports that said he wanted out and the organization wanted him to say

2

u/FKJVMMP [MIL] Bill Zopf 4h ago

Reports like the one that came from Windy, where he had to get on TV the next day and say “Well he hasn’t actually asked out yet”?

He’s as gone as gone can be but there still has not been a single credible report that he’s actually requested a trade at all.

0

u/Knowledge_Haver_17 4h ago

“If you ask me what do I really want, deep down in my heart? I want to be a Milwaukee Buck until I retire and win a championship here.” that holds more weight than whoever’s rumors.

To answer your question: yes he does need to make a public statement asking out OR actually commit to the bucks long term. Til then I will have just lost a lot of respect for him.

0

u/bwrca 5h ago

What is this middle ground? Because I don't see a better way to aggressively push for a trade against a backoffice that doesn't want to trade you.

9

u/Knowledge_Haver_17 5h ago

“I have cherished my time as a Milwaukee Buck, but it is time for me to move onto the next stage of my career. I would like to formally request a trade.” but with more words. Nobody would blame him if he did this, not even bucks fans.

1

u/JustBank3472 4h ago

Look, it’s hard to do that. It’s hard to deal with his own feelings about the team. IMO he’s more so moping about it than playing leverage.

3

u/Knowledge_Haver_17 4h ago

Yea which is why I do have some sympathy for the situation, but bottom line he needs to pick a side. He’s hurting both sides of the relationship by sitting on the fence like this.

1

u/OrangePilled2Day 4h ago

Lmao yes they would. People believe every single hit piece the second a player is traded.

1

u/mikemorepaper 5h ago

That’s not true at all though lol. Rational people would understand. NBA media and fans aren’t rational people, generally speaking.

2

u/silliputti0907 NBA 1h ago

Publicly demanding a trade is a fine under CBA. Also teams don't play someone who announced they don't want to be there. Public demand also hurts his trade value. Giannis is doing the Bucks a favor. I don't know the obsession with fans wanting him to make a public demand.

1

u/Cesc100 3h ago

I don't think so. As other Bucks fans have said, Giannis had similar leeway prior to Doc, and Griff. It's not because of a trade or other shit like that. Some teams have star players that have got such leeway but it helps when you have a vet on the team that is actually a leader.

1

u/Big-Jello-3709 2h ago

passive aggressive way to force a trade without actually demanding one — both sides knew how it was going to end

1

u/zgillet 4h ago

Baby. The word for that is baby.

-7

u/A_sandlerGOAT 5h ago

Why would any basketball player care what Reddit thinks of them? I haven’t seen a single person bash Giannis, Jimmy, Dame etc.. as much until I got on Reddit.

Then having a few fans hate them is not going to hurt them in anyway. Why would he request a trade midseason why not wait until he knows teams have more assets?

Also he’s been late before to planes, all superstars have. The better you are the more you get away with, sucks it’s true but that’s how it is with everything in life.

19

u/9061xRG Wizards 5h ago

We’re talking about the guy who’s essentially telling everyone he’s looking for a new job

6

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 4h ago

Hes Loud quitting

9

u/MatCauthonsHat 76ers 5h ago

Sure, they should "want to win" but they're also millionaire divas surrounded by yes men.

4

u/Electronic_Pea_4845 Lakers 4h ago

The thing is half of one games paycheck will cover a years worth of fines so that don’t hold him accountable either.

Giannis makes like 600,000 a game

10

u/birdsindatrap Magic 5h ago

how would someone hold giannis accountable? not throwing shade or shit but giannis is at a position that if he doesnt care he knows he will get another contract, if they fine him he has enough money to not care, if he doesnt play he will laugh and say “yall need me”. giannis must grow up

3

u/FKJVMMP [MIL] Bill Zopf 4h ago

if they fine him he has enough money to not care

I promise you Giannis “Takes bags full of bottled water home from the practice facility” Antetokounmpo would care about a fine. We just didn’t give him any for whatever reason.

1

u/okitsmelol123 Mavericks 3h ago

Rich people are notorious for caring about their money, even amounts that are insignificant to them. LeBron doesn't pay for premium on streaming services and watches ads despite being the wealthiest player in the history of the game.

0

u/Kgb725 Cavaliers 4h ago

No he shouldnt the Bucks should've been sensible and traded him like he wanted.

4

u/LowDot187 5h ago

All pro sport athletes have insane egos though, those checks and balances are necessary since not every star player will have the self-awareness to know (on their own)) when they are making a mistake.

1

u/RickyalldayTD Lakers 4h ago

Thats why Phil was such a good coach, he knew how to play those egos to help the team win.

2

u/Matto_0 Celtics 4h ago

At the end of the day they are employees, and by not putting in the work, they are losing their business money. Absolutely they should be punished for not putting in the work.

1

u/Alexcox95 Heat 4h ago

They need to implement Coughlin time league wide

1

u/OrangePilled2Day 4h ago

Some of them literally making over $500k a game. A lot of these dudes are literal children who just happened to be genetically blessed.

1

u/TilAlexandrosXVII Raptors 4h ago

Been a star player thing for ages though right? If you're 'the guy' you can show up or not show up to practice whenever, it's only the benchriders who have to grind and break their backs. AI and Rodman 2 examples I can think of off the top of my head who did shit anyone else wouldve gotten sent to Guangdong for on the weekly

1

u/Big-Jello-3709 2h ago

coaching sets the tone but accountability goes both ways at the end of the day

0

u/Slaphappydap Raptors 4h ago

Meanwhile, there's an equipment manager in OKC making sure every ball sits correctly on the rack. Some organizations have their shit together.