Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts to hard foul from Amen Thompson

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Feb 26, 2025 8:27 AM ET

This just in: a man was nearly decapitated on a basketball floor on Tuesday. The Rockets' Amen Thompson made a beeline for Giannis Antetokounmpo's head and neck while trying to stop the Buck star from finishing a layup.

The play in question occurred with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter of a tight game that the Bucks trailed by two points. Thompson's non-basketball play sent "The Greek Freak" crashing to the floor, but luckily he avoided injury. Upon review, Thompson was hit with a flagrant foul two and automatic ejection.

Amen Thompson got ejected for this:

Have to be smarter. pic.twitter.com/0CuLfcafFP
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) February 26, 2025

Most players would have good reason to be peeved with Thompson, but Antetokounmpo brushed it off as a case of a youngster giving it his all.

"At the end of the day like you don't want to have a league that's soft," Antetokounmpo said, via Associated Press. "I love guys that play hard. I love guys that they're great competitors. I'm one of those guys. Sometimes your competitive nature gets in the way [of] making the best decision, the best judgment at the time. And I feel like he wanted to make it a hard foul, but he grabbed my neck. But there's no hard feelings."

How can anyone not appreciate Antetokounmpo? He's a throwback NBA superstar with an attitude rarely found among his contemporaries.

Funny enough, even Rockets coach Ime Udoka wasn't happy with Thompson's aggressive play, agreeing with the decision to eject the second-year forward. Tuesday's incident marked Thompson's second ejection of the season after he was tossed in December for a physical altercation with Heat guard Tyler Herro.

Thompson was suspended two games for his skirmish with Herro. It shouldn't come as a shock if the 21-year-old is suspended again for trying to decapitate Antetokounmpo.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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