18 February 2023 , 14:46
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NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo inadvertently took a sly dig at LeBron James and Kevin Durant after his message to Dwyane Wade was picked up on camera prior to the NBA all-star celebrity game.
Wade had coached one of the all-star teams, alongside Antentokounmpo who also helped coach with his two brothers Alex and Thanasis, who both play in the NBA, with a third brother, Kostas, currently playing in Turkey after a stint with the Los Angeles Lakers.
At one point during festivities, a conversation which had seemingly meant to be private was picked up by a film crew, with the Greek star heaping praise on Wade after his tremendous career.
Throughout the majority of it, Wade remained loyal to the team who drafted him, the Miami Heat as he stayed for 14 years before the team decided to move on from him and he joined his hometown Chicago Bulls.
But Wade will go down as the greatest Heat player of all-time, winning three NBA championships. He won the first time around with Shaquille O'Neal in 2006, before two more rings when James joined the team four years later.
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Wade had chances to leave the Heat, but chose to remain loyal and helped build the franchise to what it is today - something that Antetokounmpo has helped create in Milwaukee.
Meanwhile James and Durant have been criticised throughout their careers for 'jumping ship' on their drafted teams after many years of failing to win, with the former leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and the latter leaving Oklahoma City Thunder.
Giannis and Wade were heard in deep conversation by TV camerasSpeaking to Wade, he said: "I'm a huge, huge fan of you bro. The day after we won the championship, I posted a picture of you, Dirk Nowitzki, Hakeem Olujawon and Tim Duncan (all players who stayed with their drafted teams and won a championship).
"You guys did it the right way, you did not join another team to do it and that is how I wanted to do it. I am a huge fan of you bro. You already know."
Antetokounmpo had been linked with a number of teams at times throughout his career, but chose to remain loyal to the Bucks and brought them a championship in 2021 when they defeated the Phoenix Suns.
The Greek star remains one of the great players in basketball, and may be in line for his third MVP this season as he continues to shine.
During the all-star game, Wade's team went on to win the game courtesy of an MVP performance from NFL superstar DK Metcalf, who scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Wade was named coach as a nod to him being part-owner of the Utah Jazz.