According to a survey, Thanasis Antetokounmpo is only in the NBA because his brother Giannis is one of the best ever.
There has been massive criticism of Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player Rotimi "Thanasis" Antetokounmpo.
The 30-year-old forward has been part of the Milwaukee Bucks second unit at the end of the rotation.
The criticism of Antetokounmpo stems from his action in the Bucks loss to the Boston Celtics last week.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo head butts Blake Griffin
After the victory against the Indiana Pacers the Bucks returned to the Fiserv Forum for a battle against Eastern Conference rivals the Celtics.
Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player Giannis Ugo Antetokounmpo did his best for the Bucks but the Celtics were on fire from deep.
The Celtics led by All-Star game MVP Jayson Tatum recorded a 41-point blowout victory against the Bucks.
Late in the game, Thanasis came on as part of the Bucks second unit to close the game and about to make a basket was fouled hard by American professional basketball player for the Celtics Blake Griffin.
Thanasis did not receive the hard foul by Griffin well as retaliated with a headbutt that sparked a coming together of players from both sides.
Upon review of what happened, Thanasis was assessed with a flagrant foul and ejected from the game.
The NBA disciplinary committee came down hard on Thanasis with a one-game suspension without pay for his actions.
Since then there has been conversation about the Thanasis' role on the Bucks team.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo a product of nepotism?
The rumor circulating social media is that Thanasis is only in the NBA because of his brother Giannis.
Giannis is a two-time NBA MVP, and made several All-Star games as well as All-NBA and All-defense teams.
He was also part of the NBA's greatest 75 players team for leading the Bucks to the 2021 Championship against the Phoenix Suns as Finals MVP.
American journalist Gery Woelfel decided to conduct a survey to ascertain the inclusion of Thanasis in the greatest basketball league.
The survey titled, Should Thanasis Antetokounmpo be on the Bucks or any NBA roster received responses from the NBA world.
The responses to the survey on the inclusion of Thanasis in the NBA has been negative.
An NBA player personnel director responded immediately, “No"
An NBA scout responded, “Let me think about this for a few seconds", before answering, "No."
An NBA general manager responded, “Hey, we know what that’s all about. It’s all about appeasing Giannis. But to answer your question, no."
Background
Giannis has not hidden the affection he has for his elder brother Thanasis as well as what he contributes to the Bucks.
Thanasis mostly an unused substitute for the Bucks is very vocal with his encouragement of the team.
Giannis at the post-match press conference after the Bucks defeated the San Antonio Spurs explained that his brother is important to the culture and spirit of the team getting victories.
He said, “The couple of games that he wasn’t here, our energy was kind of off.”
Thanasis is not the only brother that Giannis supports as the eldest Francis a musician born in Nigeria also sings his praises.
The youngest Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player Alexandros Emeka Antetokounmpo plays for the Wisconsin Herd the G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks.
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Giannis is one of the best players in the world and has led the Bucks to the best record for the 2022/23 NBA regular season.
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