Milwaukee Bucks Go Greek Once Again to Sign Kalaitzakis
The Greek connection at the Milwaukee Bucks has just got even deeper following the NBA Draft.
The reigning champions snapped up Georgios Kalaitzakis in the trade free-for-all – bringing the Grecian contingent on their roster to four.
Kalaitzakis declared himself for the Draft after a fine campaign with Panathinaikos in the Greek Basket League, in which he helped his side to a league and cup double. The 22-year-old is a highly rated youngster that top-scored in the European Under-20s Championship back in 2019, and it will be fascinating to see how he fares in the rarefied air of the NBA.
.@Bucks #NBARooks
— NBA Germany (@NBA_de) September 8, 2021
Kalaitzakis 🇬🇷 & Mamukelashvili 🇬🇪#FearTheDeer | #NBA pic.twitter.com/0Um33yoZMw
He couldn’t wish for a better for a better entry point into the big time. The Bucks are celebrating their first title for 50 years, and Kalaitzakis will join a roster that many consider to be the most balanced in the NBA. Their basketball betting odds of +850 suggest they have a decent chance of successfully retaining their NBA Championship crown, too.
The Greek ace was selected as the 60th pick in the Draft, and will join the Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili as the new faces in the Bucks’ locker room. Isaiah Todd was also picked up at the trade show, however he has since been drafted to Washington.
Giannis Seeks Redemption
Lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy is the pinnacle of any basketball player’s career – confirmation that they are at the helm of the best team on the planet.
It’s a status befitting of Giannis Antetokounmpo, a player regarded as one of the finest in the NBA’s modern era.
The champion tag is one that the 26-year-old has been wearing with pride since the 2020-21 season ended, and he has already brought the historic trophy back to his birthplace of Athens prior to the new campaign.
He’s the reason that a lot of people pick up a basketball in Greece 🙏🏽🇬🇷🏆..!! I saw the fire in his eyes.. What a night🔥 Nick the Greek x Greek Freak x Elevator x Theo pic.twitter.com/KxiPjyZfgY
— Giannis Ugo Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) September 11, 2021
But there is a burning personal pride that is stoked in any elite sportsperson when they feel as though they have been wronged, and Giannis will have watched on as Nikola Jokic was crowned NBA MVP last season – ending his own hopes of a hat-trick of wins – and thought to himself that 2021-22 will his year to shine once more.
Consequently, Giannis to win the MVP Award this season has to go down as one of the sharpest basketball betting tips, and especially so at odds of +700 before a ball has been thrown.
If the forward does bring his best then the Bucks can expect to go very well once again, although the Eastern Conference is looking as stacked as it has for some time with the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers also very much in the hunt for honors.
So can the rest of the Bucks’ roster raise their game to a whole new level? That will be the task facing them, and the likes of Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis will have to step up with marginal gains in their play.
If they can, then that Antetokounmpo name – which runs runs deep in Milwaukee with Giannis’ brothers Thanasis and Kosta also on board – could be etched into NBA history once more.
