Celtics' Joe Mazzulla Reacts to Giannis' Comments Amid Rumors About Bucks Star's Future

Giannis Antetokounmpo had high praise for Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla recently, even if it felt a little like a veiled dig at his own head coach, Doc Rivers, given the recent indications that Rivers may have lost the locker room this season and may be contemplating retirement.

Either way, Mazzulla appreciated the remarks but deflected them, instead focusing on his players.

"Obviously, he's a great player," he told reporters when questioned about Antetokounmpo's praise. "But I think my reaction was, like, 'You can't do anything unless you have the players to be able to do that.' And I think that may sound—I say it a lot, but it's just that simple. I think the greatest gift you can have as a coach, especially in the NBA, is to have a group of players that have a high competitive character, care about winning and want to get better. I think it starts there. And so that kind of was my response to that."

Antetokounmpo told Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he spoke to Mazzulla, praising him for "the mentality that you instilled in your place" and noting Mazzulla "had so many opportunities to make excuses, but you didn't."

When Mazzulla said he had good players, Antetokounmpo doubled down, saying, "No. It's about you."

So Mazzulla has a fan in Antetokounmpo. Whether there are many people left in Milwaukee's organization who would receive such vibrant praise at this point, on the other hand, is very much in question.