Giannis Antetokounmpo is so close with his brother Thanasis that he appears to be reliant on him, according to former Milwaukee Bucks guard Jeff Teague.
Teague, who was on the Bucks’ 2021 championship-winning team, made the comments on The Draymond Green Show.
“Giannis ‘ brother, when we went down 0-2, he had Covid. So he couldn’t come to the plane. That’s why we were down 0-2. Giannis was messed up… They got some different kind of connection. He can’t function or play if he don’t see his brother.
“I’m being for real. It’s different, bro. He was like, ‘Where’s TA (Thanasis Antetokounmpo)? Where’s TA?’ We in the middle of a game, I’m like, ‘Bro, we in the Finals, bro. Play’… So TA makes this magical Covid recovery. I know he still had it. Ain’t no way, bruh. It’s (meant to be) 14 days, he’s back in three. So he’s back. When he sees him… they started hooping.”
Thanasis has long been ridiculed online, with his lowlight reels often doing the rounds on social media. But clearly his presence serves a purpose when the team’s best player needs him around so badly.
Teague added that Thanasis brought a lot of value to the team in other ways too.
“His energy was contagious,” he said. “He runnin’ in the locker room, Covid and everything that he got, yelling, screaming. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, he matters.’ Like, he makes a difference for our team. When he’s not here, something’s not clicking. But when TA was there, he made it, he mattered.”
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