It’s a rare occurrence that you’ll see Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Giannis’s eldest brother, playing in an NBA game that isn’t lopsided in either direction. Usually the last man off the bench, the 6-foot-7 power forward was getting ready to check into Thursday night’s action, which saw the Milwaukee Bucks down 114-91 to the Timberwolves with just over six minutes to play.
With the game out of reach, head coach Doc Rivers cleared his bench, giving Jim Petersen on the Bally Sports North broadcast an opportunity for a side-splitting comment directed at Thanasis.
“The white flag is being waved,” said Petersen.
Intrigued by his partner’s comment, play-by-play voice Michael Grady asked Petersen what his motive was for saying such.
“Because Thanasis is getting ready to come into the game,” quipped Petersen.
https://twitter.com/BallySportsNOR/status/1755789959259206073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1755789959259206073%7Ctwgr%5Ebde83088bcbf623851fe13b359165d197a98732f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FBallySportsNOR%2Fstatus%2F1755789959259206073
Petersen wasn’t wrong.
Thanasis lived up to his meme status with a play that will make the rounds online. Despite the miss, he contributed 2 points during his 5 minutes on the court in the Bucks’ 129-105 loss.
https://twitter.com/BrickMuse/status/1755808410166296670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1755808410166296670%7Ctwgr%5E662f2a65680900ab8fb172319723ee666d869ed0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Ffannation%2Fbringmethesports%2Ftimberwolves%2Fwatch-jim-petersens-thanasis-antetokounmpo-roast-as-wolves-hammer-bucks
He saw more action the following night against the Charlotte Hornets, scoring four points in 11 minutes as part of the team’s 120-84 win.
If you ever see Thanasis checking into a close game — which rarely, if ever, happens — at least he provides some entertainment value, even if it’s at his own expense.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.