This morning, Shams Charania of ESPN continued to beat a dead horse on his Get Up appearance, stating that Giannis Antetokounmpo is “continuing to evaluate his future,” and that in regards to staying with or leaving the Bucks, there is “nothing set in stone.” More of the same clickbait narrative that ESPN, and particularly Shams, seems keen on furthering this summer for whatever reason (*coughMARKETSIZEcough*). Yada yada yada.
Far be it from Shams and ESPN to actually report something that Giannis
himself did or said. For example, his comments on a live stream in Greece last month, his interview and Instagram post from Brazil back in June, or any other public indication Giannis has made recently about his desire to stay in Milwaukee. That would be too easy! And it doesn’t drive engagement for them. Especially not when he makes an even firmer declaration of his loyalty, like he did two days ago,
On Saturday, Giannis attended the National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, IL with his brothers Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex. There they had an eBay Live panel where Giannis was shown an autographed card from early in his career. The group discussed how he developed his signature; given the length of his name, his John Hancock was originally a bit more elaborate, so he shortened it over time to “GA 34.” Why? Here’s what he said:
“Maybe I [signed my full last name] the first, like, I don’t know, maybe like a thousand, first thousand autographs that I gave away. And then I was like, ah no, I can’t be doing this for the rest of my life. Like, I want to have a long career, I’m gonna play like 15–20 years in the NBA, I can’t be doing these autographs, so...”
At this point, an intrepid attendee (who we’ll assume to be a Milwaukee fan) shouts, “all in Milwaukee!” And Giannis replies, with a wink:
“All in Milwaukee, baby.”
The fan then lets out a triumphant “yeah!” as Giannis continues with the discussion about the card. A massive salute to this guy who perhaps ventured across Wisconsin’s southern border to check out the Antetokounmbros’ panel and had the great idea to blurt this out. You can view the entire stream here.
Not lost on me is the irony that this event occurred just outside Chicago, where Shams is from and continues to live. A greater expenditure of digital ink is due on Shams and ESPN’s choice vis-a-vis Giannis this summer, but for at least the foreseeable future, how about we (and by “we,” I am very much including Shams and his bosses) again just take the man at his word? Like Bucks fans have for many years now.
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