What happened to Kostas Antetokounmpo? Why is Giannis' brother not playing for Lakers?

The Los Angeles Lakers now see themselves in a bit of turmoil as the World Champions face defeat against the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of their first-round series. The Lakers will be going into Game 5 at Pheonix with a lot to play for. They will be hoping that their star players Anthony Davis and LeBron James have good games which will help them overcome the Suns. The Lakers who had an injury-plagued season this year, face yet another adversity as their player Kostas Antetokounmpo had to travel back home to attend to a personal matter.

Kostas Antetokounmpo update: Why is Kostas Antetokounmpo not playing?

Kostas Antetokounmpo has been reported to be away from the team and is said to be in Greece, where he is attending to a personal matter. He has been unavailable for the entire duration of the Lakers' first-round series against the Suns. There have been no confirmations on the time of his arrival but sources have verified that he will be out for the 1st round and believe that he should be available to play in the 2nd round series of the Playoffs.

What happened to Kostas Antetokounmpo? 

What happened to Kostas Antetokounmpo is still unknown. But it is reported that he will be back for the 'Purple and Gold' if they advance to the next round. Kostas is the brother of League MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. He was a second-round pick in the 2018 draft but was later traded to Dallas Mavericks on a two-way contract, which meant that he would have to split playing time between the Mavs and their G- League team, Texas Legends. Kostas was part of the Lakers side that won the Championship in 2020 and he is the first Antetokounmpo brother to do so. The Greek national re-signed with the Lakers and will be playing on a two-way contract.

Lakers vs Suns Game 5 date and preview

Lakers will be travelling to Phoenix for Game 5 which is scheduled to be played on Wednesday, June 2 at 10:00 PM EST [Thursday, June 3 at 7:30 AM IST]. This game is very important for both the teams, as the winner gets to take a 3-2 lead going into Game 6. The Lakers have too much to worry about at the moment with injuries to players like Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell Pope they will have to head to their bench for Game 5 and will have to hope for a good outcome there.

The Suns will rely heavily on their backcourt of Devin Booker and Chris Paul to fire against the Lakers. Booker who is playing his first playoff series has been phenomenal, his 17 points in Game 4 helped the Suns ease past the Lakers. Booker's backcourt partner Chris Paul has been the most important player for the Suns and his performance this season has put him in the MVP conversations many times this year. Last season Paul was successful in leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Playoffs. He will be hoping that he can better last years performance and advance into the next round this year.

LA Lakers vs Phoenix Suns Prediction

The Los Angeles Lakers will take a big hit if Anthony Davis misses Game 5. KCP has also been suffering from injuries this series. Considering all that, our LA Lakers vs Phoenix Suns prediction is a 4-2 series win in favour of Phoenix.

Picture Credits: Kostas Antetokounmpo/ Twitter