Giannis Antetokounmpo Checked Out Of Game 4 Early Because ‘I Had To Take A Tinkle’

The NBA Finals are stressful, and even the best basketball players in the world can feel the nerves as the stakes get higher and a championship grows ever closer. Many have wondered over the last two games if that is what is happening with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has asked to check out of both Games 3 and 4 early in the fourth quarter before re-entering later.

Antetokounmpo has eventually returned to the game and looked like his normal, dominant self, but his early exits have caused some speculation as to what is going on with him. Some have posited he’s been too jittery, nervous, or anxious at the outset, the product of getting overhyped for his first home Finals games. However, Giannis is apparently dealing with something else: the call of nature.

It is an incredibly Giannis way to say that he has had to check out of the games to go pee, which, of course, could be a product of some nerves. Whatever the case, Giannis might need to figure out a way to add a bathroom run into his pregame routine going forward, because it’s not ideal for your best player to constantly have to check out of the game after three minutes to take a leak. Still, that’s better than him having some other problem and his play on the court after those bathroom breaks has been outstanding, the Bucks just might need to encourage him to get that out of the way before tipoff.