Giannis Antetokounmpo welcomed an opposing rookie to the NBA in his own signature way.
Zhaire Smith, a rookie on the Philadelphia 76ers, made his home debut Thursday night against the Milwaukee Bucks. Smith received raucous applause upon entering the game late in the first quarter, and immediately drilled a 3-pointer.
Smith’s NBA career had to be put on hold. He suffered a debilitating allergic reaction early in the season, after which he suffered complications and was out for almost the entire 2018-19 season. Though he began to get his feet wet with the Delaware Blue Coats – joining a fun-loving and engaging bench mob that included, at times, Jonah Bolden, Shake Milton and Justin Patton – Smith has only recently begun to get legitimate rotation minutes on the Sixers.
Thursday night, he was thrown directly into the line of fire as his Sixers faced the Bucks. The presumptive Most Valuable Player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, gave him a rude awakening. Smith attempted an ambitious double-clutch dunk with The Greek Freak standing right by the rim to contest the shot. As you would expect, it did not end well for the rookie:
Welcome to the NBA, Zhaire Smith! pic.twitter.com/pR0vVMemX1
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) April 5, 2019
To be fair, Antetokounmpo is having one of the best seasons in recent memory. He and James Harden are locked in a tight battle for this year’s MVP award. Smith is neither the first person, nor the last, that Giannis has victimized this season.
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