Thanasis Antetokounmpo is officially heading back overseas to join Aris BC of the Greek Basketball League, and the Giannis Antetokounmpo era in Milwaukee is firmly in the rearview mirror. Now is as good a time as any to re-examine what Thanasis actually meant to the franchise, because anyone paying attention knows he was much more important to the team than most fans even realized.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo's Bucks history is complicated
When a player who shares a last name with a superstar joins them on the same team, the internet is predictably quick to turn them into a meme and call it nepotism. Such was the case for the Greek Freak's older brother.
When Jon Horst signed Thanasis Antetokounmpo in 2019, Bucks fans assumed the move had more to do with his last name than his supposed athleticism or his showings in Europe. And yes, the move was certainly made to keep Giannis happy, but fans don't realize Thanasis eventually turned into something resembling a decent role player.
A cursory look at the stats is all the proof you need. In 2021, when Mike Budenholzer actually attempted to give Antetokounmpo rotational minutes every night, the Bucks saw their opposition’s turnover percentage increase by +3.2 percentage points whenever Thanasis was on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.
Antetokounmpo went on to finish the regular season in the 97th percentile in this category. In fact, in the 916 possessions the Bucks fielded lineups with Thanasis, Milwaukee rebounded 28.8 percent of their misses, putting Thanasis in the 90th percentile in that statistic. His scoring was always suspect, but his intangibles genuinely led to winning basketball for that team.
Even this writer, at certain points, wondered what kind of player Thanasis Antetokounmpo would have turned into had Milwaukee's next coaches given him the opportunities that Mike Budenholzer did. Because as we saw, opportunities for energy guys were few and far between once Budenholzer left town.
Thanasty leaves Milwaukee with a real legacy to be proud of
In Milwaukee, Thanasis was more than just a panic measure to keep the Greek Freak in town. He was a locker-room voice who practiced what he preached with his unbridled energy and effort.
Now that he’s off to team up with his brother Kostas, the Antetokounmpo chapter in the 414 is fully closed. Thanasis was never anything close to being one of the main attractions, but the culture he helped build in Milwaukee deserves more respect than fans ever gave him.
Thanasis probably won't be part of any conversations about the best parts of the Giannis era, but he absolutely should be part of the memories. That legacy deserves all the respect in the world, because when it's all said and done, Thanasis Antetokounmpo is an NBA champion. The history books in the 414 will remember that forever.
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