It’s not fair that Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the most powerful strikers in NBA history, and at the same time truly likable and funny. We rarely see NBA players outside of the arena during the off-season, but MVP twice took the time to appear on Daily program on Monday night, with comedian Hasan Minhaj taking on a guest role. Most of Antetokounmpo’s time on the show is promoting his family’s background, named in honor of his father, Charles Antetokounmpo, but then there’s also time for comedy.
Proficient in the world of roasting and standing, Minhaj has the ability to take down any opponent with a sense of humor. Giannis isn’t really known for his trash talk despite how bubbly his personality is. His first satire criticizes Luka Dončić and new teammate Kyrie Irving, but you can tell he’s even a little annoyed when he says those things about his contemporaries. Minhaj can speak and has won an All-Star seven times.
Something about saying Dončić had “sausage arms and ankles” did not please Antetokounmpo. And joke DončićHis nationality by saying “for a guy from Slovenia, you definitely look like a guy from Alabama” didn’t inspire him to start talking trash. The lead for this season’s NBA MVP isn’t the only one Minhaj wants Antetokounmpo to offend. His attention turned to Nikola Jokić, saying that the center would have a hard time making it to the NBA Finals when he “can’t get past the Burger King drive-thru” and that he should have his ID checked outside a hookah bar . Antetokounmpo tried to insert a sandwich of praise by telling Jokić that he “loved his game” but Minhaj had no romantic conversation.
Antetokounmpo went through a joke about Kevin Durant before giving the current Phoenix Sun compliments and can’t even read punches for LeBron James, making Minhaj extremely disappointed. Seeing Antetokounmpo outside of the arena was a great opportunity for him to show the non-athletic world more of his personality than just some eggplant emojis on Instagram. Those opportunities are usually just for Jameses and Steph Currys to show off who they are without a basketball in hand. Consider me extremely impressed with the way Antetokounmpo has handled himself and I hope we see more of him under that spotlight and similar opportunities for others in the NBA.
