Inside a fan-less Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night, it seemed like business as usual as members of the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks hit center court for a normal tip-off.
However, once reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo gained the first possession for the Bucks, both teams, including the coaching staffs on the sidelines, took a knee. They repeated the act on the ensuing Pistons possession when Blake Griffin held the ball and both teams took a knee again.
The peaceful act happened a day after prosecutors in Kenosha, Wisconsin, decided not to file criminal charges against the police officers in the August shooting of Jacob Blake. Nearly five months earlier, the Bucks boycotted Game 5 of their first-round playoff matchup versus the Orlando Magic on Aug. 26 from inside the Orlando, Florida, bubble in response to Blake's shooting. The boycott was the beginning of a three-day halt in the NBA.
Bucks players were in constant contact within a group chat Tuesday, voicing their frustrations and concerns about the ruling. There were frequent conversations about how they wanted to respond, and Antetokounmpo said the team considered numerous ideas, including taking a knee during the national anthem and possibly not playing Wednesday.
It was ultimately decided to take the knee during the game to make the teams' message more visible. The Bucks said they held the ball for seven seconds to reflect the seven times Blake was shot.
"We know that when the game starts, people are going to be paying attention,'' Antetokounmpo said. "That was the right time to do it."
The Bucks felt it was important to include the Pistons in the discussions, something they didn't do with the Magic in the Orlando bubble before deciding not to play. Pistons coach Dwane Casey said he discussed the idea with the Bucks' Mike Budenholzer before Wednesday's game and that the Detroit players then got involved.
"I thought it was appropriate," Casey said after the Bucks beat the Pistons 130-115. "Guys still came out and had to play the game, but they wanted to show a sign of unity and support for the family."
Blake, who is Black, was shot seven times by Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey, who is white, on Aug. 23. Blake was left paralyzed. The shooting, which occurred in front of Blake's three children and was captured on video, prompted large protests in Kenosha, with more than 250 people arrested during several days of unrest.
The other two police officers at the scene -- Brittany Meronek and Vincent Arenas -- also will not face charges, according to Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley.
Antetokounmpo, a native of Greece, said recent events have taught him a lot about America and how Black people are perceived in the country. He said he has sought to "get more educated" on the subject.
"I don't follow social media as much, I don't watch the news as much, but obviously, it's very hard to escape it," Antetokounmpo said. "At the end of the day, if I see something that's not right, I'm going to say something about it. That's who I am, and you see there's a lot of things that's not right because of the color of your skin. People are going through this in other countries around the world, but it's a lot, it's a lot in America.
Antetokounmpo also opened up about his son, Liam, who was born last February, and how he hopes to influence change for his sake.
"At the end of the day, when I stop playing basketball and while I'm playing basketball, my kid is gonna grow up here in America," Antetokounmpo said. "My kid is Black. And I cannot imagine my kid going through what I see and what I see on the TV. If while I'm living and while I'm breathing, I can do something about it to even change it towards the better ... 2 percent, 5 percent, what I'm capable of doing, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna speak out about it.
"But at the end of the day, I've got to educate myself and I've got to inform myself even more. Obviously, I came here when I was 18, I've been here for seven years and a half, but at the end of the day, this is an issue that we're going through and it's still going on and we've got to do something about it."
Bucks center Brook Lopez, speaking before Wednesday's game, was among Milwaukee players who said Tuesday's ruling didn't sit well with them. Lopez described a feeling of "helplessness" after learning about the ruling.
"It's obviously disappointing. Very disheartening. I get a sense personally of helplessness. I can't imagine being in Jacob Blake's position or his family's position or people that have been in or will be in similar situations that he was in, in that moment," Lopez said, adding that he believes the Bucks' actions from this summer didn't go in vain. "Just that helpless feeling. It's like what do you do at this point?
"To me, it seems that the officers reaction, if he was trained to shoot until there was no action or there's no movement or whatever it was. To shoot someone seven times, if he may have a knife or whatever and he's getting in his car, it seems so excessive in comparison. Again, I can't help to feel helpless."