Giannis Antetokounmpo taking way too long at the free throw line has been one of the NBA’s most bizarre subplots for many years now. But this season, opposing teams are once again drawing referees’ attention to his elongated routine. On Monday night in a clash of titans in the Rocky Mountains between Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets, Altitude Sports broadcasters went so far as to bust out a stopwatch on-air to time Antetokounmpo at the line.
NBA rules dictate players must take a free throw 10 seconds or fewer after receiving the ball from the official at the line. Antetokounmpo often delays getting the ball and even then, frequently takes more than 10 seconds before releasing his shot.
So the Nuggets broadcast team of Chris Marlowe, Scott Hastings and Katy Winge decided to take matters into their own hands.
During the second of two attempts, Winge hit start late, and the ball still did not leave Antetokounmpo’s hands until nearly the 10-second mark on the clock.
Nuggets broadcast team took out their iPhones stopwatch to time Giannis Antetokounmpo at the free throw line #Bucks #Nuggets pic.twitter.com/21SI55bJAY
— Hunter Bost (@thatNBAguru) January 30, 2024
This comes after Cleveland Cavaliers wing Max Strus last week began pantomiming a countdown while Antetokounmpo took free throws.
NBA teams are once again onto the Greek Freak’s slowpoke ways.
https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1751117167821480197
The issue was magnified initially during the 2021 NBA playoffs, when teams in nearly every road arena Antetokounmpo played in on his way to a championship would loudly count down in unison during any free throw.
Referees rarely call an infraction, but Antetokounmpo clearly breaks this rule on a near-nightly basis.
You can watch video of the full trip to the free-throw line, with commentary, below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwGEo1PwULs
Winge and the Altitude team’s efforts succeeded late in the game, though. Antetokounmpo was finally called for an infraction on a free throw in Denver’s narrow win.
At this point, we should probably all be rooting for a Bucks-Nuggets NBA Finals if solely to see how Altitude and the Refs vs. Giannis plays out from the broadcast booth.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.