Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Giannis Brother, Was 'Close' to Signing with Knicks
The New York Knicks nearly had a Greek freak on their roster ... not "the" Greek Freak in former Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, but rather his brother, Thanasis.
Thanasis, 31, was the a second-round pick of the Knicks' in 2014. He played for the G League's Westchester Knicks from 2014-16 and even suited up for the NBA squad for two games back in 2015-16.
In an interview with Donatas Urbands of BasketNews, he revealed that he nearly returned to the Knicks in free agency this past summer.
"Obviously, Giannis is my brother, and obviously, I love Milwaukee. I love Milwaukee. But at the same time... I want to play. You always want to play and feel important," Thanasis said. "It's just because of how I am as a player. That would be different if I were in Europe and any other team.
"But now it became a little bit more like, oh, okay, he's on the team because... But I was like: you know what? No. Why would I do this?"
Thanasis has played alongside his brother Giannis for the past four seasons, suiting up for 162 games over his tenure. He's been seen mostly as a bench player, but he clearly adds value in more ways than one as part of the 2021 championship team. In New York, he could've perhaps served as a replacement for the traded Obi Toppin, whose departure left the Knicks relatively undersized at power forward behind Julius Randle.
While the interest was there with the Knicks, it turned out that the Bucks gave the stronger pitch
Though injury prevented Giannis from repping their native Greece in the ongoing FIBA Basketball World Cup, Thanasis played 22 minutes against would-be teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart in the Greeks' Monday showdown against the United States. Team USA prevailed 109-81, placing Greece in a win-or-go-home contest against New Zealand on Wednesday in Manila (8:40 a.m. ET, ESPN+).
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