There’s no shortage of platforms for professional athletes to give tell-alls. But Fox Sports’ Shannon Sharpe believes Giannis Antetokounmpo crossed a line during his recent appearance on The Daily Show.
Antetokounmpo went viral this week after he went on Comedy Central’s late-night show and was persuaded by guest host Hasan Minhaj to trash talk some of his NBA colleagues. Despite being reluctant at first, Antetokounmpo ultimately read the teleprompter to roast Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić and Kevin Durant, while unknowingly drawing the ire of Sharpe.
Giannis jokes on ‘The Daily Show’ he can teach Durant how to carry his team:
“It wasn’t cute and was unnecessary. Remember what you were doing before you traded for Jrue Holiday and before Middleton came of age? You weren’t carrying anything anywhere.” — @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/tSnwxrfhU7
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) February 28, 2023
“I don’t think it was cute,” Sharpe griped to his Undisputed co-host Skip Bayless. “I understand you were on The Daily Show and you make light of certain situations. But certain things I’d be like, ‘Nah, I’m gonna pass on this.’”
The line that garnered the most attention was Antetokounmpo’s joke about Durant. “You (Kevin Durant) keep joining these super teams to win an NBA title,” Antetokounmpo said with pause. “How about we work out together sometime so I can teach you how to carry your own team?”
Yes, the lover of dad jokes chided Jokić’s physique and mocked Durant’s affinity for being part of a super team, but it was clearly part of a bit. Not only were the jokes written for him, but Antetokounmpo quickly offered his own compliments after being pressured into roasting a couple of his colleagues for laughs. But according to Sharpe, even though Comedy Central wrote it for him, Giannis should have had the foresight to decline the bit.
“He’s had this before. Remember the All-Star Game?” Sharpe asked, referring to the 2020 NBA All-Star Draft where Giannis bypassed the opportunity to select James Harden and mocked his ball hogging tendencies.
“Giannis, you gotta remember now, you talking about carrying the team,” Sharpe continued. “Remember what you was doing before you traded for Jrue Holiday? Remember when what you was doing before Khris Middleton came of age? Let me tell what you did…You lost the Eastern Conference Finals, you lost in the conference finals, you lost in Eastern Conference first round, you lost in Eastern Conference first round. So you weren’t carrying anything anywhere.”
Talk about the no fun police. The segment wasn’t offensive, nor was it even that funny. But Sharpe is acting like Giannis was out there talking at the expense of his NBA peers as he tried to chase his stand-up dreams like Tom Brady.
In terms of making fun of other athletes, Giannis did it like a gentleman. Not only did he use his judgement and refuse to follow the teleprompter a couple of times, but he followed each joke with an impromptu flattering remark on the player he just slighted.
Maybe Sharpe was just doing his best Skip Bayless imitation, trying to drum up controversy during the dog days of the NBA season. Because the Pro Football Hall of Famer has to know this wasn’t a big deal.
