Shannon Sharpe has always been respected for knowing how to take care of his body. But his latest take on Giannis Antetokounmpo's conditioning had Milwaukee Bucks fans livid at the former NFL star.
Sharpe tweeted out while watching Bucks-Suns Game 2, criticizing Giannis Antetokounmpo for supposedly playing in just short bursts of action on the court.
Giannis, needs to improve his conditioning. He only plays in 5-6 min stretches
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) July 9, 2021
Fans were quick to remind Sharpe that just a week ago, the Bucks feared that they wouldn't even have Giannis playing in the NBA Finals at all.
You know he’s playing through an injury right?
— Jake (@JakeAndHoops) July 9, 2021
..literally had his knee bend at a 40 degree angle like last week dawg
— Iso (@Isozzzz) July 9, 2021
Your basketball knowledge is showing right now you obviously dont watch games you act like he only plays 5-6 all the time
— 808s and Fastbreaks (@TrvXVV) July 9, 2021
Unc, his leg was backwards! They can’t play em long periods of minutes! pic.twitter.com/5DgXyMI7Hj
— smitty (@tsmith55baba) July 9, 2021
Sharpe didn't take the responses lightly. He doubled down on his take about the Bucks' franchise player, claiming the injury he sustained shouldn't hold him back from playing more minutes.
That’s his normal routine. He only plays 33 mins per gm in reg season. His mins have gone dwn since 2018 https://t.co/BClWWMb7Xk
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) July 9, 2021
You want a chip or not https://t.co/pB8NvuNEaj
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) July 9, 2021
It wasn’t season ending tho. Does he look injured to you? https://t.co/EbhvSx0IAM
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) July 9, 2021
While Shannon Sharpe does make some points that resemble logic, it's just wrong altogether for him to spiral into this tirade after taking a shot at Giannis Antetokounmpo's condition. There were no conditioning issues, period. The Bucks star is simply being eased back so that he doesn't aggravate his knee injury, that although wasn't season-ending like Sharpe said, happened just a little over a week ago.
And the best part is that the Bucks played Giannis for 40 (!!!) minutes in this game. He had 42 points and 12 rebounds while thoroughly dominating the Suns for the most part. That doesn't sound like 5-6 minute stretches by any measure, nor does it reek of conditioning issues.
Would you rather have your star player playing all 48 minutes? Yes, you would. But you can't blame Giannis or the Bucks for not being too keen on doing just that.
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