Milwaukee Bucks of America star, Giannis Adetokunbo (Antetokounmpo) will have his mind distracted to an extent heading into Game 6 of the finals in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA), as his older brother, Thanasis, is battling a CIIVD-19 scare.
The Bucks are heading into a title-defining showdown with Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, heading into which they lead the series 3-2, but Antetokounmpo will worry to a large extent about the helh of his brother, who went into isolation before Game 5.
Megasportsarena.com gathered that the veteran player was ruled out for the game after entering health and safety protocols, according to the NBA injury report, which also listed Donte DiVincenzo and Sam Merrill out with pre-existing ankle injuries.
The eldest Antetokounmpo brother had been seeing occasional minutes for the Bucks in the playoffs, appearing in 13 out of 21 games and averaging 3.5 minutes per game. His biggest appearance was 10 minutes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
While that is not a huge loss for the Bucks, the development is probably concerning for the Bucks because of the likelihood that Antetokounmpo has been spending time with his brother, the current NBA Finals’ favorite for most valuable player award.
Bucks head coach, Mike Budenholzer also disclosed that his team would not have its full coaching staff during the game, following which ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews reported that the missing member was assistant coach, Josh Oppenheimer.
After losing the first two games of the best-of-seven series on the road The Bucks, who won their only NBA championship 50 years ago, snatched victories in three straight games, including away on Saturday, to put their title surge back on track.
A report by Yahoo Sport, however, clarified that entering the league’s health and safety protocols does not mean that Antetokounmpo, who has played a minor role off the bench during the playoffs, has contracted the coronavirus.
The report added: “In his only appearance of the 2021 NBA Finals, Antetokounmpo recorded three rebounds in two minutes during Milwaukee’s Game Three triumph over the Phoenix Suns.”
