Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo appeared to troll Los Angeles Lakers big man Christian Wood on Instagram.
Antetokounmpo posted a photo of himself blocking Wood in the Bucks’ preseason game against the Lakers, and he proceeded to tag Wood in the picture.
Wood, who played for Milwaukee briefly in the 2018-19 season, is a former teammate of Antetokounmpo.
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It’s possible that Antetokounmpo was just playing a joke on his former teammate, but either way it’s a ruthless reminder to Wood of getting blocked.
Wood responded to Antetokounmpo’s post in a comment, saying that he’s circling the Lakers’ game against the Bucks on his calendar.
The Lakers and Bucks face off twice in the 2023-24 season. Both matchups will come in March of next year, with the first game scheduled for Friday, March 8 in Los Angeles. The teams will play in Milwaukee on Tuesday, March 26.
The Lakers ended up losing to the Bucks on Sunday, dropping them to 2-3 in the preseason. Antetokounmpo was at the top of his game in the preseason, helping lead Milwaukee to the win.
The two-time league MVP scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting while adding eight rebounds, one assist and two blocks in limited minutes.
While the Lakers sat out several key players in the loss to Milwaukee, including Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt (who is dealing with a heel injury), Antetokounmpo appears to be excited by his defensive prowess against Wood and the Lakers.
The Lakers signed Wood this offseason to a cheap deal that could end up paying off for the team as a low-risk, high-reward move.
Wood averaged 16.6 points per game for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2022-23 campaign, but the team did not re-sign him this offseason.
Prior to that, Wood averaged 17.9 points per game for the Houston Rockets in the 2021-22 season and 21.0 points per game in 41 contests in the 2020-21 campaign (also for the Rockets).
The Lakers are hoping he can contribute to their frontcourt rotation that features star Anthony Davis and another offseason acquisition in big man Jaxson Hayes.
Wood did not play his best basketball in Sunday’s preseason game, as he finished with just three points on 1-of-6 shooting (1-for-3 from beyond the arc), four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Hopefully, the Lakers big man can take the photo posted by Antetokounmpo and use it as motivation for the start of the 2023-24 season.
