Milwaukee Bucks haven’t had an All-Star since 2004 season when Michael Redd played for the team as a reserve. The 12-year drought ended on Thursday night when Giannis Antetokounmpo was selected to be an All-Star starter for the Eastern Conference. It’s a great honor, and Antetokounmpo finished with the second-most votes in the East. Milwaukee has a reason to watch the All-Star coverage because my guess is TNT will go all-in with the Greek superstar.

A long time ago, I wrote about how the NBA will want to leverage Giannis to expand the game in the Mediterranean part of Europe, and the first real steps are going to come All-Star weekend. He’s a great story, and that’s one the Turner Sports people will want to tell. Now if Bucks are winning basketball games, the story of Giannis should grow bigger. Let’s say Milwaukee is the fifth of sixth seed at the time, there will be some conversations about if Antetokounmpo can be the Most Valuable Player this year even though he’s probably fourth right now if we ended it today (James Harden, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James in that order over Giannis). Any way, Bucks star will be discussed at great length on Saturday and Sunday night.

This is a big step for Bucks. The national spotlight on them hasn’t been brighter. Even in the 2001 years, those teams did not have the causal fan appeal like this team does with Giannis. He’s going to be great fun in the All-Star Game.

Charlie.