Giannis Antetokounmpo has always been a man of the people. The Greek immigrant had an arduous life before attaining NBA stardom. He understands the mindset of the average sports fan and how they blend their tough, thankless lives with sports. He portrays a family-friendly, dad-joke-cracking persona that seems to work eminently well on a man with his demeanor.
Antetokounmpo spent a lot of time on X this Saturday answering questions from basketball-starved fans. After all, this was the first day with no basketball games since the NBA playoffs tipped off in the third week of April.
Entertaining fans has always been something Antetokounmpo does with great aplomb. His decision to answer random questions from basketball fans on Twitter will be forever cherished. He started the streak off by telling NBA fans his favorite food – gyro sandwiches with chicken.
His next answer was which flavor of smoothie he likes the most – a throwback to the Game of Zones episode with him and Jason Kidd. The two-time MVP replied that his choice of smoothie flavor is Caribbean Passion from Jamba Juice. He then stated that his favorite video games are FIFA and God of War.
‘The Greek Freak’ had some non-controversial answers to many basketball questions. When asked to pick the greatest basketball answer of all time, Antetokounmpo went with both Michael Jordan and LeBron James without picking one.
He then adjudged that Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard are both the greatest shooters of all time. This was yet another politically correct answer to appease Bucks and Warriors fans together. The 30-year-old then declared that his idols while growing up were Allen Iverson, Kevin Durant and Magic Johnson.
The 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year then revealed that his favorite players to operate with on NBA 2K are Kobe Bryant and Curry. Antetokounmpo also had an answer that revealed the influence that Carmelo Anthony had during his NBA heyday – he stated that the first NBA jersey he sported as a kid was Melo’s Denver Nuggets jersey.
Some European fans would be peeved by his choice of football clubs. Antetokounmpo revealed that his favorite club used to be Arsenal, but he now supports Real Madrid more. He also named the Ronaldos, Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry as his favorite football players.
Possibly the best basketball-related answer that he gave was when he named his all-time starting five. Giannis Antetokounmpo found a way to accommodate James, Curry, Kobe, MJ and Kevin Durant on the same lineup. He used Curry and Bryant as his guards, KD and Jordan as his forwards and ‘King James’ as his center.
Could Giannis Antetokounmpo be on the move this summer?
Although the big man has yet to give any indication, there have been murmurs around the league of him demanding a trade. Antetokounmpo is smack dab in the middle of his prime, just past 30 years of age. He has a championship to his name and could conceivably maintain his level of play for 3-4 years. If he wanted to find a better championship fit, there really isn’t a better time to move than now.
The OKC Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Phoenix Suns will all be looking to add players to their rosters this summer. Although some of these teams can’t be true contenders, they are tipped to throw their hats into the ring. If the OKC Thunder are eliminated without a championship after 68 wins, they have the assets to trade for him.
This promises to be an exciting summer for those who feed on NBA drama, on and off the court. Kevin Durant is reportedly on the move as well. Both all-time great forwards can shake up the league seismically if a trade goes through.
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