LeBron James seemingly perplexed at Giannis Antetokounmpo's contentious ejection vs. Pistons

Many were frustrated with Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s controversial ejection during the third quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons. This includes LA Lakers superstar LeBron James, who reacted in perplexity on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday.

Antetokounmpo was ejected after receiving his second technical foul for “taunting” Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart following a dunk. However, many pointed out that his reaction was quite tame and pretty standard for that sort of play.

It appears that James agrees, as he reacted to a clip of the ejection with a simple facepalming emoji:

Antetokounmpo finished with just 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks on 37.5% shooting in 22 minutes. However, luckily for the two-time MVP, Milwaukee was able to gut out a hard-fought 120-118 victory without him after rallying in the fourth quarter.

The Bucks were led by superstar point guard Damian Lillard, who finished with a game-high 34 points.

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Stephen A. Smith on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ejection vs. Detroit

Milwaukee Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and ESPN's Stephen A. Smith

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith also reacted in disbelief to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ejection, on Thursday.

During an episode of “First Take,” Smith was outraged at the referees, saying that they stole the spotlight during Wednesday’s game. He added that the refs did a disservice to Milwaukee’s fans by depriving them of the opportunity to watch their team’s superstar:

“I'm going to call the league office today. Who the hell is paying to see the referee? That is not a reason to eject Giannis Antetokounmpo from a game,” Smith said.

“That is a disservice to the fans, the paying customers, coming to see them play. That is ridiculous. … That is not a reason to eject a superstar basketball player, who clearly the paying customer is paying to see.”

Fortunately for Antetokounmpo, he doesn’t have to wait long to redeem himself. The Bucks (5-2) are playing the Indiana Pacers (5-3) on the second night of a back-to-back on Thursday.

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