NBA Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Angers Fans with Mid-Game Sit-Down Celebration: 'I Was Just Having Fun'

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty

Giannis Antetokounmpo is "just having fun."

On Wednesday evening, as the Milwaukee Bucks went up against the Philadelphia 76ers, the 26-year-old NBA star celebrated leading his team to a successful 109-105 victory by momentarily sitting down on the floor of the Wells Fargo Center court.

Seen seated on the floor of the Philadelphia-based venue in a video obtained by Bleacher Report, Antetokounmpo smiles and stares straight into the camera as fans begin to boo him.

Though many took issue with the basketball player's display, Antetokounmpo seemed to ignore the criticism when he later tweeted a photograph of the sit-down moment with the caption, "Sit back relax and enjoy the show."

RELATED: Girl, 11, Gives Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Artwork — and His Reaction Brings Her to Tears

Speaking with reporters after the game, Antetokounmpo said that sitting on the court after his win was all in good fun and not meant to be taken in any other way.

"Is there something wrong with having fun?" he said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with having fun. I just like to have fun. In the first half, I was not having fun."

"I kind of, you know, talked to myself at the half and said, 'No matter how bad the game is, you can't forget what you're here to do, which is have fun,' " Antetokounmpo continued. "Obviously, there's a couple times where I exaggerate, but I don't want to take anything back."

The athlete added: "I wasn't thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to sit down.' I was having fun. I was talking to my teammates — I was talking to them. I was just trying to be in the moment. But I was just having fun."

RELATED VIDEO: Charles Barkley Reveals He Hasn't 'Touched a Basketball' Since the Day He Retired

But it wasn't all fun and games for everyone involved in the Wednesday night game, as Sixers center Dwight Howard disapproved of Antetokounmpo's gesture.

"I wanted to go and Stone Cold Stunner him, but I had already gotten one tech," Howard, 35, said, according to USA Today. "It's basketball. He wanted to have fun. But we'll see these guys again."

"We don't want to make a big scene about what he did. But today we allowed them to get back in the game," he continued. "So what he did, we can't control that."

"I'm not one to talk trash or say anything negative, but we'll see them again and it'll be a different result," Howard added.