We’ve heard rumors about top players turning down LeBron James’ offers to join him in the upcoming ‘Space Jam 2,’ but we finally have the name of one superstar player who gladly turned down an opportunity to join LeBron on the set: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
ESPN’s Malika Andrews detailed Antetokounmpo’s meticulous pre-game routine on Tuesday, which eventually bled over into a discussion of his offseason. It was there that the question of his offseason and ‘Space Jam 2,’ came about.
Being in the film would have required him to give up two weeks of private workouts to train with his fellow stars while making the movie, a total non-starter, given Antetokounmpo’s reclusive tendencies.
“I don’t like being Hollywood,” Antetokounmpo says. “I don’t like all this extra drama. I am just going to try to be me.”
Although big workouts and pick-up games during the offseason featuring several NBA stars have become a viral phenomenon, Antetokounmpo appears to have no interest in indulging the NBA’s summer storylines of who is playing with who during the offseason.
Giannis was evidently high on LeBron’s list and it’s pretty easy to see why. Not only is he a co-frontrunner for MVP with Houston’s James Harden, but he’s also a Nike athlete with a new signature shoe on the way. However, it is worth wondering whether Giannis’ decision is halcyon of a younger generation of stars that want to handle things on their own terms and if that will continue to be an obstacle for LeBron and Warner Bros. in the casting for ‘Space Jam 2.’
