Former Pistons star Blames Giannis Antetokounmpo for Empty Arena in 2019 Playoff Series: “Everybody Knew It Was Over!”

Giannis Antetokounmpo solidified his legacy as a winner after leading the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA Championship win in 2021. However, he established his dominance as a frontrunner in the league in the 2018-19 season. The Greek superstar not only won league MVP for the first time that season, but even led the Bucks to their first Eastern Conference Finals run after 18 years. During a recent interview with Tidal League, former Detroit Pistons star Bruce Brown explained how Antetokounmpo made Pistons fans not show up for a playoff game that year.

In 2019, the league was introduced to a whole new version of Giannis. He was pretty much unstoppable and the Pistons fans witnessed his dominance firsthand as he played a crucial role in sweeping them in the playoffs. Brown, who played for the Pistons at the time, was also astounded by Antetokounmpo’s strong showing.

Four years ago, the Detroit Pistons found themselves in a first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. It was an interesting Eastern Conference matchup and Detroit fans had high hopes for their team. However, things didn’t go as planned.

The Pistons were swept 4-0 after the Greek Freak made sure that the Detroit side didn’t have any wiggle room in the first three games of the series. This caused Pistons fans to completely boycott Game 4 because they knew the series was over after three games.

Brown described what it was like playing in an almost empty arena in Game 4. During the sit-down with Tidal League, he said, “We got up out of there quick. Four games. Gone. Giannis…I would say Game 3 was lit. And, in Game 4 everybody knew it was over. So they didn’t show up.”

However, fans still had hope before Game 3, so they didn’t disappoint in their first home game of the series at Little Caesars Arena. “Game 3 come out…lit! The best I ever seen in the city,” the 26-year-old added.

At the time, Brown was a rookie in the league and had made the playoffs for the first time as a Piston. The Indiana Pacers star admitted that it would take him a while before finding a team that could compete against Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks.