Shannon Sharpe dropped a hot take about Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo during Wednesday’s segment of ESPN’s First Take, but he was quickly called out by NBA fans, telling him he was misinformed.
Sharpe took issue with the recent comments made by Antetokounmpo, in which the 28-year-old expressed his desire to win above all else. While he said he’s content in Milwaukee, he refused to commit his future to the Bucks if the team wasn’t committed to contending for a championship.
“You got your brothers occupying two roster spots,” Sharpe said in response to Antetokounmpo’s comments. “You know good and well, Giannis, your brothers, probably not going to be playing for any other team in the NBA except Milwaukee, and that’s only because of you.
“You keep talking about surrounding yourself with talent, there’s two spots that’s being occupied by your brothers.”
Shannon Sharpe accuses Giannis of limiting Milwaukee's talent by giving roster spots to his brothers
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 20, 2023
"You keep talking about surrounding you with talent. There's 2 spots being occupied by your brothers"
(h/t @BasketballOnX )
pic.twitter.com/e3ri5maYzr
The reality is, only one of Antetokounmpo’s brothers is currently rostered by the Bucks—31-year-old Thanasis. The youngest Antetokounmpo brother, Alex, was signed by Milwaukee in September and waived less than 24 hours later.
NBA fans on social media were quick to point that out, while also taking issue with the overall sentiment of Sharpe’s take, which many deemed to be blatantly wrong.
This is literally not true. Alex is not on the roster
— Nathan Marzion (@nathanmarzion) September 20, 2023
It was gonna be two bench warmers anyway, might as well be two bench warmers that you're cool with
— Andy (@AndyJPuente) September 20, 2023
• Alex was waived the same day he was signed.
— 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 (@Bucks_Take) September 20, 2023
• Only one roster spot is taken up by his brother and it’s been that way for three seasons.
• The last roster spot on a contender isn’t doing anything.
acting like they had more the minimum to offer players, no team has a 15 man rotation this doesn’t matter
— KT (@KT_3410) September 20, 2023
Should be noted that Thanasis is the only brother actually on roster, but even so the more Giannis talks about Bucks' commitment the more he opens himself up to media poking at this stuff. Not a big price to pay to keep him happy, but it does impact roster flexibility on margins. https://t.co/nWqQUQT4uv
— Frank Madden (@fmaddenNBA) September 20, 2023
Again, the media doesn’t even pay attention to what’s going on. Alex isn’t taking up a roster spot. He was signed and waived to get a bonus and help the team retain his G-League rights.
— Dalton Sell (@sell_dalton) September 20, 2023
I like you, but do better, @ShannonSharpe https://t.co/7xNEiDsMio
If you’re gonna go out and speak to such a large audience like that at least make sure you know anything about what you’re talking about..
— ³⁴ (@FCBGiannis) September 20, 2023
Alex isn’t even on the roster and there are literally 15th men on the mavs and wizards etc. that are 10 times more useless than thanasis… https://t.co/XffketzoXG
