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Giannis Antetokounmpo famously turned down the chance to join LeBron James and other luminaries for offseason workouts last summer. It certainly shouldn't come as shocking, then, that the Milwaukee Bucks superstar is reportedly uninterested in appearing alongside his Los Angeles Lakers counterpart in Space Jam 2. Somewhat surprising, though, is the support Antetokounmpo seems to have from ownership for refusing to take full advantage of his status as the league's next big thing.
Celebrity gossip site TMZ caught up with Mallory Edens, the daughter of Bucks owner Wes Edens, in New York City on Tuesday, asking her for an opinion on Antetokounmpo's decision to spurn the overtures of Space Jam 2.
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“If you think about it right now, LeBron is Giannis' peer,” Edens said. “I don't think he should idolize him in a way like a normal basketball fan [would]. That's his competitor. That's his peer. It's somebody he wants to beat. I don't think he needs to be, like, buddy-buddy with him and run around and shoot a movie with him.”
Edens went on to say that though she “loves” the original Space Jam, starring Michael Jordan, she believes James will have difficulty fielding a cast of NBA peers for the sequel — a possibility first brought to light by multiple recent reports suggesting as much.
Antetokounmpo has consistently defied what's expected of marquee up-and-comers throughout his career, and his actions en route to MVP consideration while leading the Bucks to the league's best record this season have been no different. Clearly, Antetokounmpo hopes to forge a much different path than other NBA superstars, a plan endorsed by the organizational powers that be.
