Nepotism is always a bit of a hot button, even within the NBA. For instance, Bronny James, LeBron James’ son, took one of just 450 spots in the National Basketball Association when he was snagged by the Los Angeles Lakers at the 2024 NBA Draft in late June. Despite being assigned to the G League for his first year, he’s still getting paid a reported US$7.

9 million for four years as No 55 pick in the draft. And many have speculated that the Lakers selected him to appease his father, and for the chance to make history with the first father-and-son duo to play together for the same team. James’ drafting quickly got fans talking about another example of nepotism within the league: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019, joining his brother, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo .

{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Thanasis Antetokounmpo and his brother Giannis Antetokounmpo both play for the Milwaukee Bucks. Photo: thanasis_ante/Instagram","url":"https://cdn.

i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/07/16/53a62c0d-7d96-42b9-a481-f13427b64751_a26c17fe.jpg"} Thanasis Antetokounmpo and his brother Giannis Antetokounmpo both play for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Photo: thanasis_ante/Instagram The nepotism was, to some, so blatant that it prompted NBA legend and sports commentator Charles Barkley to say during the 2022 All-Star Game, “[Thanasis] right here has the best job security in the history of civilisation ...

t.