Milwaukee City Wire

Defending NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t see how he can lose with the Milwaukee Bucks.

“You know I feel like once you dedicate yourself to your team and to the city, people feel that, you know, and they appreciate it,” Antetokounmpo told Fox6 Milwaukee, commenting on muralist Mauricio Ramirez’s recently completed 50-foot mural of him near the corner of Wisconsin and Van Buren.

The star player said his mom made him aware of the mural, and he was immediately touched.

“Playing basketball, you never expect things like that to happen,” Antetokounmpo said. “You just play basketball. You love the game. You enjoy the game.”

Ramirez noted that he hopes the work will instill a sense of pride and confidence in every local who sees it. He wanted to showcase the player’s strength and ability while also representing the bond he shares with the people of Milwaukee.

“We’re not showing his face,” Ramirez told Fox6. “What’s the next thing we identify? His physical structure and his muscles, showing his strength.”

With their Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Boston Celtics knotted at 2-2, Antetokounmpo has been in rare form. In Game 3, he netted a game-high 42 points in the Bucks’ narrow 103-101 victory.

Winners and Whiners highlighted that the Celtics made a point of citing what they saw as bad calls prominently figuring in their close loss.