Nick Young Slams ‘Dumb’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Amid Heat’s Struggles

Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s tenure with the Miami Heat hasn’t started as he’d have hoped, and he’s now come under fire from some corners. Antetokounmpo’s former Milwaukee Bucks head coach, Doc Rivers, is primarily responsible for that, having sparked conversations regarding the forward with some eyebrow-raising comments.
Rivers said Antetokounmpo isn’t easy to coach, doesn’t have a high IQ, and only has one way to play. While some have to the two-time MVP’s defense, former NBA player Nick Young went off on him on Gil’s Arena.
“The n***a dumb, that’s all,” Young said. “He just Gyro Greek brain, that’s all… All he learned was to go coast to coast. The n***a ain’t changed. I haven’t seen a jump shot. The n***a been going coast to coast since he came in the league.”
Young mocked Antetokounmpo by saying all he probably does during practice is go coast to coast. Now, that is definitely when the 10-time All-Star is at his best.
Antetokounmpo is unstoppable in transition, but he isn’t as effective as your typical superstar in the half court. Part of that is the fact that the 31-year-old still hasn’t developed a reliable jump shot after all these years in the NBA. Teams want him to shoot a jumper every time he comes down the court.
Antetokounmpo is shooting just 20.8% from three and 40.0% from the mid-range in 2026-27. He has improved as a shooter over the years, but there hasn’t been enough improvement.
Even with that being the case, though, Antetokounmpo has remained one of the best players in the NBA throughout the 2020s. He is playing well individually this season, too, despite the Heat being 3-6.
Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. He hasn’t been the kind of defensive presence you’d have hoped for, but he is still dominant offensively. The debate right now, though, is whether Antetokounmpo’s style of play is conducive to winning. Rivers has doubts about that.
“He’s not easy because he plays at this crazy downhill pace,” Rivers said. “He’s really a difficult guy. I was telling someone this: he has this great passing ability, but he doesn’t necessarily have super IQ at the same time. It’s really a strange thing. And he really has one way. Downhill, force, like every play. He wants to force it.
“There’s times where I wish he did one thing,” Rivers continued. “I wish he learned how to execute better. He’s one of those guys that you get a lot of them from the U.S., AAU guys that have never needed to execute because they can do it on their own. But that doesn’t help the team.
“And I told Giannis this: the thing he needs to still learn is the value of execution,” Rivers added. “How important it is when you’re in practice and shootarounds to lock in on execution. And now he has a coach who is as good as there is in execution.”
The counter to this, of course, is that Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to the NBA title in 2021. They also made the playoffs nine years in a row from 2017 to 2025 with him. We’re not talking about a player who has no track record of success.
Also, while the early signs aren’t great, the Heat still have plenty of time to turn things around. They should return to winning ways soon as they face the Sacramento Kings next at Golden 1 Center on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET.
Economy and Sports Feed