Giannis Calls Out Tyrese Haliburton’s Dad for Altercation Following Loss: ‘Very Disrespectful’

Giannis Antetokounmpo called out Tyrese Haliburton's father for confronting him after the Milwaukee Bucks' Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, calling the incident "very, very disrespectful" and "unacceptable."

"After losing the game, emotions ran high. A fan came onto the floor — at least, at the time I thought he was a fan. But then I realized it was Tyrese’s dad. I love Tyrese; I think he's a great competitor," Giannis said to reporters of the incident after the game.

He added: "His dad came onto the floor and showed me a towel with Tyrese’s face on it, saying, 'This is what we do. This is what we fucking do!' I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful."

Aside from the tense moment between Haliburton's dad and the Greek Freak on the court, things got heated in general between players on both sides during Indiana's 119–118 win that closed out the series, especially as players went to shake hands postgame.

Giannis went on to say that Haliburton's dad cursed at him in a very tense moment, one he called "totally unacceptable."

"But coming up to me, disrespecting me, and cursing at me — I think that’s totally unacceptable. Totally unacceptable," the Greek Freak said. "Now, I’m not the kind of guy who points fingers, because where I come from, snitches get stitches. So I don’t want to say anything that could get him fined or cause trouble. But it wasn’t respectful."

He added that he talked with the elder Haliburton after the altercation to make sure everything was all squared away. "I spoke with him afterward, and I think we’re in a good place now. We’re going to leave it at that," the NBA star said.

After the game, Tyrese Haliburton told reporters that he didn't agree with how his father acted toward Giannis after the Pacers beat the Bucks. "I don't think that my pops was in the right at all there," he said. He added that he'd like to eventually speak with Giannis as well about what went down between him and his father after the game.

Tyrese also explained that the series was tense overall, noting there was a "war of words" and antics between the two teams. Haliburton had 26 points and 10 assists to help his team beat the Bucks 4–1 in the playoff series. The Pacers will go on to face Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals on May 4, at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.