The Milwaukee Bucks continued to build their roster for next month’s Summer League tournament in Las Vegas, adding Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Luke Maye.
As the Summer League schedule was officially released on Friday, the Milwaukee Bucks were hard at work continuing to add to their roster for the event.
Jon Horst had already announced that D.J. Wilson and Sterling Brown would play in Summer League, although it’s unlikely that last year’s first round pick Donte DiVincenzo will participate. It’s fair to guess that two-way player Bonzie Colson will also be suiting up for the Bucks in Las Vegas.
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On Friday, I also rounded up all of the latest reports on roster additions, with Fletcher Magee, Daulton Hommes, Matt Farrell and Rayjon Tucker all signing deals with the Bucks.
The additions haven’t finished there, though, with Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Luke Maye emerging as the latest players set to join up with Milwaukee for Summer League.
Antetokounmpo’s signing obviously stands out, considering the significance of his younger brother to the Bucks. The news of Thanasis’ agreement with the Bucks was first reported by Mark Deeks of Sky Sports.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo will play for the Milwaukee Bucks summer league team.
— Mark Deeks (@MarkDeeksNBA) June 22, 2019
This signing is by no means just the latest example of NBA nepotism, though; for reference, Tobias Harris‘ brother Terry also agreed to play for the 76ers Summer League squad on Friday.
Antetokounmpo’s previous stay in the NBA was very brief, as he only took to the floor twice during his stay with the New York Knicks. In the time since, Antetokounmpo has built up an impressive résumé in Europe, which makes him a high profile addition in terms of pedigree as well as name.
Since leaving the U.S. to ply his trade professionally in Europe, the 26-year-old has been a role player first for Andorra in 2016-17, and then for the last two years with the storied Greek franchise Panathinaikos.
With Panathinaikos, Antetokounmpo has won consecutive Greek championships, while appearing in the league’s 2018 and 2019 All-Star Games, and coming away with the MVP honors from those showcases on both occasions.
At 26 years old, Antetokounmpo will be hoping to leave a meaningful impression in Summer League that may lead to a more significant opportunity to stick in the NBA once again. If that proves to be the case, Antetokounmpo’s impactful defense will likely be responsible.
Having gone undrafted following one of the more storied college careers to be found in this year’s draft class, the news of Luke Maye’s signing with the Bucks was announced by the UNC Tar Heels’ official Twitter account.
If Luke's college trajectory is any indication, Milwaukee got a good one! Luuuuuuke has signed with the @Bucks. #CarolinaSZN | #NBADraft | @luke_maye pic.twitter.com/8mRkf9AdgR
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) June 21, 2019
Brian Formica of NBC-WXII provided further clarity in confirming Maye’s deal with the Bucks is a Summer League contract.
Maye was a part of UNC’s championship winning team back in 2017, while he earned First Team All-ACC honors in 2018. He started every game for the Tar Heels’ during his Junior and Senior seasons, averaging a double-double in both years.
A little undersized for an NBA power forward at 6’8″, Maye’s strong frame may help him to make up for some of those issues, while he has shown the ability to knock down shots from deep at times in his college career.
There’s likely still room for a couple more players to join up with the Bucks, so watch out for more news on that front in the days ahead.