In a surprising revelation, the New York Knicks were the only team who didn’t scout Giannis Antetokounmpo in Greece.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to be a problem in the Eastern Conference for years to come. The New York Knicks never had the chance to draft Antetokounmpo, but it turns out that they didn’t even fully scout the potential MVP.
The documentary about the Greek Freak, “Finding Giannis” is set to air on Saturday on TNT at 6:30 p.m. ET. Jonathan Givony of ESPN posted an outtake of the documentary where it’s revealed that the Knicks were the only NBA team to pass on seeing Antetokounmpo in person.
https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/1095771902776406016?s=20
This is a bad look for the Knicks, but it’s not something fans should worry about too much. The Knicks were coming off of their first playoff series win in years and Antetokounmpo was long gone before New York picked Tim Hardaway Jr. with the 23rd pick in 2013. Antetokounmpo was taken by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 15th pick that year.
This wasn’t a missed opportunity on the Knicks part, but it’s clear that the team didn’t want to miss out on another Antetokounmpo. New York took Thanasis Antetokounmpo in the second round the following year, but Giannis’ elder brother only played in two games with the Knicks.
Perhaps Giannis can use this as motivation against the Knicks going forward. But until the Knicks are back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, there won’t be much of a rivalry between the Greek Freak and the Knickerbockers.
