The Indiana Pacers’ incredible comeback victory to eliminate the Milwaukee Bucks from the NBA postseason will go down in history. However, the Bucks giving up 8 points in the final 35 seconds of the game is being overshadowed by a postgame dust-up between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyrese Haliburton’s father, John. The latter has now come forward to explain what really happened.
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After a historic meltdown from Doc Rivers’ crew, it didn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse. In an attempt to flex the victory on the Bucks, John indulged in a bit extracurricular activities.
He was then seen on the court waving a towel right at Giannis in a taunting fashion. The big guy didn’t like that, and approached Mr. Haliburton for what seemed to be a very aggressive conversation with both of their heads butted against one another.
But that was not what John Haliburton intended. “I was looking through him. I know it looked like I was staring him down. But it wasn’t like that. It was in the moment,” he said in an interview with TMJ4. “Giannis never said anything to me. I never said anything to Giannis. Regardless of his misinterpreted moment, the Greek Freak did approach John and wanted some answers. What did the 2021 NBA Champion say to Tyrese’s father?
“He said, ‘Don’t disrespect me. Don’t f-ing disrespect me.’ And I said I was not trying to disrespect you.”
In an exclusive interview with @TMJ4, Tyrese Haliburton’s dad talks about last night’s confrontation with Giannis after Game 5. pic.twitter.com/hcFVAwnbd9
— Ashley Washburn (@ashleyjwashburn) April 30, 2025
“He grabbed my hand. He put his forehead on my forehead. “He said, ‘Don’t disrespect me. Don’t f-ing disrespect me.’ And I said I was not trying to disrespect you. I’m telling you. I did not do that on purpose.” Fortunately, it did seem like John was able to defuse the situation in the moment.
He claimed that he and Giannis ended their intense conversation by saying I love you. “I said to him, ‘I love you.’ He said back to me ‘I love you.’ We patted chests. He gave us the thumbs up and walked away.”
This was actually John’s second comments about the incident. Earlier this morning, he took to X to formerly apologize to Giannis and the entire Bucks organization. He wrote, “I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers organization for my actions following tonight’s game. This was not a good reflection on our sport or my son and I will not make that mistake again.”
It seems like John has cleaned up his side of the court after a minor incident went viral. Giannis gave his side of the story too. His was just a bit more epic.
Remaining humble is what Giannis preached about after talking to the press about the incident
One of the first questions Giannis was asked about after the Bucks horrific meltdown was the incident with John Haliburton. But the 30-year-old NBA superstar was equipped with an answer, one that was yet another post-Playoff elimination all-timer.
Giannis believes in being humble in victory. pic.twitter.com/GYEXyHoXUu
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 30, 2025
” I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful,” admitted Giannis when asked about John’s actions. He then explained a lesson that his father taught him about being humble.“My dad used to come into the family room and he was the most respectful person ever.
“When you come from nothing and you work your whole life to sell stuff in the street, your whole life you’ve been scared of the police deporting you and sending you back to your family and you have to protect your kids, you create this mentality of being humble your whole life. To not kind of disrespect anybody.”
It’s nice to know that this situation has most likely been rectified. John rightfully apologized, and Giannis proved once again why he is and always will be a class act.
