Giannis Antetokounmpo

What is going on with Joel Embiid?

That was the question on the minds of NBA fans after the Philadelphia 76ers superstar center had another tough night in Thursday's 90-88 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, dropping Philly to 0-2 on the season.

Embiid struggled from the field, shooting 6-of-21 while scoring 15 points. He added 12 rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.

It's not the Embiid we've come to expect, especially in a brutal third quarter that saw him shoot 0-for-4, score zero points, have a shot blocked and turn the ball over three times.

Those struggles weren't lost on NBA Twitter:

Embiid is almost universally loved in Philly. If he's getting booed at a home, well, it's going bad.

He wasn't the only culprit in the loss. The Sixers shot 5-of-24 from three. The bench was outscored by Milwaukee's reserves 29-13. And Tobias Harris' head-scratching decision to help off Wesley Matthews on what turned out to be the game-winning three was hard to justify.

It all spoiled a superb night from James Harden, who looks like he's primed for a monster season after putting up 31 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, his second straight game exceeding 30 points.

Ultimately, losing to one of the NBA's best teams by two points in a back-and-forth, October showdown isn't the end of the world for the Sixers. After giving up 126 points to the Boston Celtics in the opener, the defense was far better, containing Giannis Antetokounmpo to the tune of 21 points.

But Embiid's struggles to start the season are a bigger concern. Yes, he's faced two of the best defensive teams in the NBA in the Celtics and Bucks. The season is young, and Embiid has been a force of nature the past two years. More than likely, he'll figure it out.

Still, his body language, effort and execution were all out of whack on Thursday. It's the sort of thing that will be discussed vigorously on more than a few sports-radio talk shows in Philadelphia tomorrow.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is an adherent of the Mamba Mentality.

While acknowledging their limited interpersonal connection, Antetokounmpo told The Athletic's Eric Nehm he sees similarities between his mindset and that of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant:

"I will never say this, I will never disrespect the name of the great Kobe. I don’t like mentioning him. I feel like he should be mentioned, should never be forgotten. But I don’t like mentioning his name to bring attention to the conversation that we are about to have. I wasn’t close to him. I wasn’t this with him or that with him. But I would say this, in some areas of his mindset, I think we’re very similar."

Like Michael Jordan before him, Bryant helped to set a template for how NBA stars can approach their craft. His intensity and single-minded focus didn't make him the greatest teammate at times, but it undoubtedly helped him win five championships.

In the case of Antetokounmpo, the dedication to his game is evident in his NBA rise.

Nobody could have foreseen a 19-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo, who averaged 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a rookie, becoming a two-time MVP and one of the league's 75 greatest players. Over time, the Greek Freak filled out and honed the rougher edges of his game to accentuate his physical gifts.

Now, the 27-year-old is in a position to lead by example, just as Bryant did as a player.

MarJon Beauchamp, the No. 24 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, explained how he watches Antetokounmpo's approach and is "trying to be the same because I’m trying to be a great player."

"He doesn’t talk to anyone," Beauchamp said, per Nehm. "He just stays focused. He has the same habits, the same routine. He’s just locked in, I can tell by his face."

Giannis Antetokounmpo has heard Gilbert Arenas' criticisms, but he's not going to let the words of a "bitter" ex-NBA player bother him.

The Milwaukee Bucks star addressed Arenas' comments during an appearance on Sirius XM NBA Radio's The Starting Lineup on Friday and sent a shot back at the former Washington Wizard.

"Does it bother me? I'm not going to lie, it makes me want to work harder," Antetokounmpo said. "Do I go back home and think about it and I can't sleep? Not necessarily. But at the end of the day, hey, I don't know, when I am 45 years old, 50 years old, I might be, you know, a little bit bitter, too. I might be seeing, you know, this 20-year-old making, signing a three-year, $900 million. ... Maybe, I don't know, but I don't think so.

"Because I'm grateful for everything that God has blessed me with, for my kids, for my brothers, for my family, for my father, you know, for my son and the people I work with. I'm grateful for it. And I don't think I'm going to be like that."

While it was couched in a longer answer, there was one key word there: bitter. Antetokounmpo likely views Arenas as someone with an ax to grind rather than someone who is giving valid criticism.

Arenas recently bashed Giannis during multiple media appearances, saying the two-time MVP "doesn't understand basketball."

"The media says he's the best player in the league. Not even close. Just stop it!" Arenas recently said on the No Chill podcast. "I can look at his game and say he doesn't understand basketball yet. He plays the sport, he won a championship, cool. But he doesn't really understand how to be better, how to train his body."

The lack of objective validity in Arenas' claims makes him easy to dismiss. Antetokounmpo has already accomplished more at age 27 than Arenas did in his entire NBA career; it isn't even particularly close. Giannis has one championship to Arenas' zero; one Finals MVP to Arenas' zero; two MVPs to Arenas' zero; one Defensive Player of the Year to Arenas' zero...OK, you get the point.

Couple that with the fact that Antetokounmpo accomplished all of those feats after having never played at a higher level than Greece's second division before reaching the NBA, and it's easy to see why Giannis sleeps well at night.

Stephen Curry isn't about to fall for any gamesmanship, even if he appreciates the compliments.

Giannis Antetokounmpo may be the best player in the world in the eyes of some, but the Milwaukee Bucks star told reporters he believes the best player is "the last one standing."

The last one standing during the 2021-22 campaign was Curry, who led the Golden State Warriors to their fourth title in eight years. He also took home the first NBA Finals MVP award of his career thanks to his performance in the victory over the Boston Celtics.

"I don't know if it was gamesmanship," Curry told reporters when asked about Antetokounmpo saying he was the league's best player. "I would've said the same thing about the champions... I said the same thing about him last year. I appreciate the compliment. It's not going to soften me at all."

It was Antetokounmpo's Bucks that won the title the previous season with the superstar cementing his legacy with 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in a Game 6 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Yet the Warriors bounced back from injury-marred campaigns for Curry and Klay Thompson to add another championship to their modern-day dynasty.

Despite Curry's status as the reigning champion and NBA Finals MVP, ESPN believes he is the fifth-best player in the league heading into the 2022-23 campaign. Antetokounmpo came in at No. 1 in the publication's ranking, just ahead of back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokić at No. 2 and Luka Dončić at No. 3.

It wouldn't be a surprise if the Bucks and Warriors ended up facing each other in the 2023 NBA Finals, and the Curry vs. Antetokounmpo debate would be the biggest storyline.

By their own standards, the winner of such a hypothetical matchup would get a claim as the top player in the NBA heading into the 2023-24 season.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is highly motivated to win another title, and he revealed Sunday that he got jealous watching the Golden State Warriors' 2022 NBA championship parade.

When asked about his motivation to win another title, Antetokounmpo responded:

"I kinda got jealous of Golden State and seeing them in the parade," Antetokounmpo said. "... Like, you know that feeling now. You know what is getting stripped away from you."

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks won the 2021 NBA title with a finals victory over the Phoenix Suns in six games. It was the team's second-ever championship and first since 1971.

In 2022, the Bucks were eliminated from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics.

Milwaukee is expected to be one of the top teams in the East again in 2022-23, but it won't be easy for Antetokounmpo to lead the team back to the NBA Finals, especially considering there should be some tough competition in the conference.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is the focus of a new short film produced by WhatsApp.

Naija Odyssey, which was released Wednesday, focuses on the two-time NBA MVP's formative years as a native of Greece born to Nigerian parents. The film intends to "[tell] his origin story of many origins as he reconciles his roots, birthplace and sense of belonging between cross-cultural worlds."

Although Antetokounmpo's story is well known to basketball fans, Naija Odyssey opens the door for others to discover the path he took before achieving superstardom in the NBA.

The 27-year-old has helped to symbolize the NBA's growth abroad, an effort that was spurred by former Commissioner David Stern. Four of the top five vote-getters in last year's MVP balloting were born outside of the United States.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo told ESPN's Malika Andrews on NBA Today Wednesday that he didn't mean to slight Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James with his "crown" celebration during a 111-104 win in Dec. 2019.

"It was nothing against LeBron," Antetokounmpo said. "That's my last name. It means crown."

Antetokoumpo previously noted his name's meaning in an Instagram story in Oct. 2018, per Nick Kampouris of the Greek Reporter. In the post, Antetokounmpo's mother, Veronica, appeared in an image wearing a shirt that reads "the crown from across the seas."

Antetokounmpo was rolling in that game when he made the crown gesture. He had just hit his fifth three-pointer en route to 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. The season ended with him winning his second straight NBA MVP award.

Antetokounmpo became an NBA champion the following year, cementing his Finals MVP status with a 50-point performance to cap a six-game series win over the Phoenix Suns.

He's indisputably one of the kings and faces of the league these days, as is James, who is entering his 20th NBA season and has four NBA championships, four NBA MVP awards and 18 All-Star appearances to his name.

Seeing James and Antetokounmpo on the court together is always must-see action, and that will be the case again this season. The Bucks will host L.A. on Fri., Dec. 2, while the Lakers will welcome Milwaukee into town on Thu., Feb. 9.