Myles Turner’s candid comments have exposed the turmoil within the Milwaukee Bucks this season, with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the center of the chaos.
After signing a surprising four-year, $108.9 million contract following his departure from the Pacers, the Bucks’ star center revealed on the “Game Recognize Game” podcast, hosted by Breanna Stewart, that the team faced significant internal issues, including chronic lateness.
“Honestly, it was a mess,” Turner recounted on the podcast. “If our flight was scheduled for 2 PM, we wouldn’t actually leave until 4:30. I’m not joking. It became normal for guys to show up hours late. I eventually started arriving an hour after the scheduled time because it was just chaos.”
When Stewart inquired about the main culprit, Turner didn’t hesitate to point fingers.
“That’s simple: Giannis,” he revealed. “Giannis would just show up whenever he felt like it. It seemed to be just how things were. Once I saw it happening, I thought, ‘Hey, if they’re not going to penalize you, do your thing.’”
When Stewart, star of the WNBA’s Liberty, said her new coach Chris DeMarco added a fine system that includes $25 penalties for missed free-throw box-outs, Turner added that now ex-Bucks coach Doc Rivers, who has since retired, “didn’t fine anyone ever.”
“Guys were showing up to film whenever they wanted to show up; guys were missing meetings. It was one of the craziest things I’ve personally ever experienced,” Turner said.
On other teams, he said, players were fined regularly.
Taylor Jenkins, the Bucks’ new coach, will need to make changes following a horrific 32-50 regular season.
Antetokounmpo appears likely to be traded this offseason, given the extent of the dysfunction Turner described, as well as public comments from front office executives when the team introduced Jenkins.
“We will do what’s best for Giannis and what’s best for the organization,” Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said during a press conference to introduce Jenkins. “We don’t know whether Giannis will stay with us or not, but we’ll work through that with Giannis in the coming weeks.”
The expectation is that a solution to this incoherent situation will be found before the 2026 NBA Draft in June.
Antetokounmpo has been publicly upset with the franchise that held him out to end the season due to injuries, public stating that he was healthy enough to play.
His next team odds have the Celtics as the primary option to trade for his services, should he be dealt this offseason.