It was another disappointing loss for the Milwaukee Bucks as they lost to the 20-36 Memphis Grizzlies Thursday night, 113-110. It was a sour way to head into the All-Star break for the team and star Giannis Antetokounmpo questioned the “want” of the Bucks to the media after the game according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

“There’s so many things that we have to do in order for us to be better,” Antetokounmpo said. “And it starts with, we have to want it. We have to want it. We have to want it. Like, what can I — what else should I say? Do we want it, do we really want to win? Do we want to win?”

In the loss for Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo scored 35 points, recorded 12 assists, and collected four rebounds, but it was not enough to get by the Grizzlies. It has been a rough stretch for the Doc Rivers era as Milwaukee is 3-7 in the first 10 games under the former NBA champion.

“We have to want it, man,” Antetokounmpo said. “Like enough with the talking. Enough with the, ‘our s— don’t-stink’ mentality. Do we really want it? Are we putting in the work, are we going to put in the effort? Are we going to fight for what we think that we deserve or what our goals are trying to accomplish? That is the most important thing.”

Antetokounmpo says excuses are surrounding the Bucks

The former league MVP was rightfully irate after the game stating that “excuses” are surrounding the team. He does not buy that the Bucks should be losing because of a new coach, system, defense, and more.

“Guys are tired, that’s an excuse. New coach, excuse, new system, excuse, new defense, excuse. All of it, it’s excuse,” Antetokounmpo said. “At the end of the day, you’re going to go out there and try to play basketball, try to compete and they competed harder than us today. They competed harder than us two days ago. We are not on track of what we are trying to do and I feel like the team feels it. The team feels it. I feel it.”

Antetokounmpo asks himself and Milwaukee “Do we really want it?”

Because of how poorly they have performed as of recent, Antetokounmpo is baffled by the will of the team as besides the loss to the Grizzlies, they were defeated by the Miami Heat by more than 20 points on their home floor last Tuesday. Antetokounmpo asks a simple question to himself and the team, “Do we really want it?”

“Enough with the talking. Do we really want it?” Antetokounmpo said via The Athletic. “That’s going to be the question that I’m going to ask myself every day until the end of the season. And I’m gonna ask my teammates every day until the end of the season.”

“Do we really want it? And if we want it, do what it takes, do what it requires to be good,” Antetokounmpo continued. If you have to come and shoot at night, come and shoot at night, I\if you have to come and shoot before shootaround, shoot. If you have to lift weights. lift weights. I don’t care. Do what it takes to be ready to compete. And that’s all you can do. Just be ready to compete. Some days, it’s going to go your way. Some days, it’s not going to go your way. But when effort is not there, it’s very hard for it to go your way.”

The star is averaging 30.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 61.6 percent from the field. Despite the tough stretch they are in, the Bucks enter the All-Star break with a 35-21 record which puts them third in the Eastern Conference.