With all of the hoopla surrounding new Los Angeles Lakers player Bronny James and his connection with his father, LeBron James, the phrase nepotism has come up several times. The same has been stated of Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who is the brother of star Giannis Antetokounmpo, as he discusses how his situation was earned rather than given to him due of his name.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo talks his draft history before Bucks
Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports
Thanasis Antetokounmpo appeared on the show “The Bootleg Kev Podcast” and discussed claims that he has a job in the NBA due of his brother. However, the Bucks star denied such reports, stating that teams were interested in him in the same NBA Draft in which his brother Giannis went 15th overall, and that he would have been taken in the second round by the Brooklyn Nets.
“You know you see people say stuff online, I’m like guys if you really knew you’d be like what!” Thanasis Antetokounmpo said. “So Giannis gets drafted, and in the same draft that Giannis gets drafted, I had an agent at the time, I was the best man at his wedding, they call him and go, “hey, is Thanasis in the draft,” this is 2 days before, he goes “no, he’s not in the draft” they go “damn we would’ve picked him at #52 with Brooklyn. I go like what, they would’ve picked me. Mind you I have no paper work, nothing, I didn’t do nothing you have to submit everything. I’m like man, Giannis get drafted first round, that year, same year.”
Thanasis defends himself amidst nepotism claims
Antetokounmpo was subsequently selected 51st overall by the New York Knicks the next year, following his brother. However, when asked about basketball pundit and former player Charles Barkley, he stated that he will always have a job when his sibling is on the team because the two siblings are on the Bucks. The lesser-known brother, however, would take that as a “compliment,” adding that, in addition to having a nice attitude, “you’ve got to bring something to the table.”
“That’s a compliment, because that means I’m a good person. Nobody gives you nothing if they don’t like you first of all, that’s one thing,” Antetokounmpo said on “The Bootleg Kev” show. “And you’ve got to bring something to the table, but I actually like Charles Barkley and I actually like Shaq. This is like a funny joke but like the thing is what happens is, some kids believe that.”
Nepotism a topic of discussion with news of Bronny James
Nepotism has been a topic of discussion among the Antetokounmpo brothers on the Bucks, but it has been heightened tenfold since the Lakers drafted 19-year-old Bronny James in the second round. However, Stephan A. Smith, a media personality, does not believe this is as serious an issue as people make it out to be, citing the double standard in terms of race.
“We live in a country where nepotism has taken place with white folks religiously, forever,” Smith said. “In the NBA specifically, in a league where at least 70 percent of the players are Black, we’ve seen nepotism with white folks all over the place. Ownership, executive ranks, player personnel, scouting, coaching, the list goes on and on. We’ve said little to nothing about it. And now this happens with LeBron James, a member of the Mount Rushmore of basketball, and all of a sudden you’ve got people running their mouths.”
“Bronny James would not be on an NBA roster if it were not for LeBron James,” Smith continued. “We all know this. We accept it. The issue is the resentment that’s emanating from people out there. How dare you resent LeBron James…America, not everybody, not most, but a lot of people are about, ‘stay in your place, stay in your lane.’ And LeBron James has religiously been about the business of defining his own lane.”