Shannon Sharpe blasts Giannis Antetokounmpo for having his brothers on the Milwaukee Bucks

Sharpe has strongly criticized NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for having his brothers on the Bucks.

© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is big on family. After all, it was his family that had been with him when he was a nobody in Greece before trying to make it as a professional basketball player in the United States. However, the same devotion to family may be partly to blame for the Bucks’ recent failures in the NBA Playoffs.

According to the former NFL great turned sports commentator Shannon Sharpe, Giannis cannot harp about wanting the franchise to build a title-contending roster every season when he has two of his brothers occupying roster spots.

Hot take

Giannis recently made the headlines when he discussed his plans for the future, saying he’ll consider playing somewhere else if the Bucks don’t show him a stronger commitment to winning an NBA title in the next few seasons. However, Sharpe took exception to this and shared his thoughts on “First Take.”

“You know your brothers probably not going to be playing for any other team in the NBA except for Milwaukee, and that’s only because of you,” Sharpe said. “So. you keep talking about surrounding yourself with talent, there’s two roster spots being occupied by your brothers.”

Sharpe, though, is misinformed as there is only one other Antetokounmpo on the roster in Giannis’ older brother, Thanasis, who re-signed with the team this offseason. Milwaukee did sign Giannis’ younger brother Alex but waived him on the same day to retain his G League rights.

Kendrick chimes in

Shannon was not the only expert who was befuddled by Giannis’ comments. Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins also gave his two cents on the matter, saying the Bucks franchise has already bent over backward in ensuring Giannis has the components necessary to succeed in the Association.

“If I’m Giannis’ teammates, I feel a little bit disrespected. The Bucks have done everything in their power to make sure they put the pieces around Giannis to be successful. They had the best record, and they just came up short against the Miami Heat. And it was a failure."

"You have a championship-caliber team and a team that has shown you time and time again we’re willing to jump off the porch for you. I don’t really get where this energy is coming from,” Kendrick concluded.