Giannis' Brother Thanasis Reveals He 'Didn't Know' About Heat-Bucks Trade Ahead of Time

Free-agent forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo said this week that he was not privy to the Milwaukee Bucks trading his brother, Giannis Antetokounmpo, to the Miami Heat until it happened last month.

Speaking this week on the Thanalysis Show podcast (h/t Nikola Miloradovic of EuroHoops.net), Thanasis said, "The crazy thing is, I didn't know. … I didn't know. That's his business and whatever he wants to do. As for my reaction, I'm still adjusting. Man, it's hard and exciting at the same time. Anyone who says it isn't isn't human."

After about a year of rumors and speculation, the Bucks finally moved on from Giannis when they dealt him and Bobby Portis to the Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap and one second-round pick.

Giannis and Thanasis had been teammates in Milwaukee since 2019, and they won an NBA championship together in 2021.

It is unclear what the future holds for the 34-year-old Thanasis in the NBA now that he is a free agent and Giannis is no longer in Milwaukee, but the trade could very well have shifted the balance of the Eastern Conference.

The Heat figure to ride the combo of Giannis and three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo next season and beyond.

Miami will have no shortage of tough competition to contend with, though, including the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers, who recently added Jaylen Brown to a core of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe.