"He would never bark at an American player": Fans react as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets into heated argument with Giannis Antetokounmpo's teammate  

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander surprised fans with an uncharacteristic heated argument on the court during Canada’s 86-79 victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece in Saturday’s Paris Olympics’ men’s basketball competition at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.

As the final buzzer marked Canada’s victory, Gilgeous-Alexander approached Greece's Giannoulis Larentzakis and exchanged heated words. Giannis Antetokounmpo intervened as a peacemaker between the two players.

Fans were quick to make jokes about Gilgeous-Alexander’s uncharacteristic outburst, noting how unusual it was to see him lose his cool on the court, and how he would not do the same if facing stronger opponents like Team USA.

”He would never bark like this at an American player tho,” X (formerly Twitter) user @cerebralplanet said.

Another user,@Ants_Revenge, joked:

“In no world does a man named ‘Shai’ know how to fight.”

Another one said Larentzakis had to have done something to trigger "SGA."

“Shai dont act like that for no reason. 5 did something.”

Here are other reactions to the incident:

Fans react to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander losing his cool in the Olympics

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explains scuffle

After the game, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander explained the incident between him and Giannoulis Larentzakis.

"I felt like #5 (Larentzakis) bumped Nickeil [Alexander-Walker] after the whistle for no reason, so I just wanted to let him know that you don't play that," Gilgeous-Alexander said (per BasketNews).

The victory was monumental for Team Canada, marking their first win on the Olympic stage in 24 years. SGA contributed significantly with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had an outstanding performance, scoring 34 points with five rebounds and two assists for Greece, but it wasn't enough to secure a victory for his team. He went 11-for-17 from the field and 12-for-15 from the line.

RJ Barrett led Canada in scoring with 23 points, and Dillon Brooks added 14 points. Reflecting on the game, SGA said:

"We did a lot of things well. We were the aggressors for most of the game. Especially in the first half, we were very good, we had control of the game. I think we just closed the game a little bit better defensively."

"Offensively, I think we got good looks down the stretch, just didn't make them. Obviously, it's never an excuse, you can always get stops and seal out the W in a nicer way."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and RJ Barrett made history by becoming the third pair of Canadian teammates to score 20+ points in their Olympic debut game. This achievement recalls a similar feat from 2000, when RJ's father, Rowan Barrett, scored 21 points alongside Michael Meeks, who had 27 points, in a game against Australia.