Sometimes, a hot take ages so poorly that all you can do is laugh. With Talen Horton-Tucker rumored to be heading overseas to continue his playing career, Milwaukee Bucks fans immediately remember when ESPN analyst Jay Williams downplayed Giannis Antetokounmpo’s massive extension in 2020 by hyping up Tucker, then a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

“It’s hard for me to say [that Giannis will win a title in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform] considering how loaded the Lakers are. I don’t know if you’ve been watching Talen Horton-Tucker over the last couple of days, but he continues to show the depth that the Lakers have.”

It didn’t take long for Bucks to destroy Jay Williams’ foolish take

It was a foolish take at the time, but it didn’t take long for it to reach all-time levels of blasphemy. The following NBA season, Giannis Antetokounmpo became an NBA Champion with the Milwaukee Bucks, etching his name alongside the greats. THT averaged nine points, 2.8 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game during the regular season, not doing much to give Williams’ take validity.

Making matters worse for Williams was the guard’s playoff showing. In four playoff games that year, Horton-Tucker put up averages of 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in just 12 minutes per game as the Lakers fell in the first round. Meanwhile, the Greek Freak powered Milwaukee to its first title in 50 years, taking home NBA Finals MVP in the process.

Since then, things haven’t gone how Williams thought they would with Tucker. After departing LA in 2022, the guard has seen a declining role consistently over the last three seasons. Now, with little to no NBA interest, he’s heading overseas to join Fenerbahçe Istanbul in Turkey, per Andrea Calzoni. Per Eurohoops, there is a chance THT bypasses the deal to sign with an NBA team, but that’s a long shot.

Given how late it is in the summer, it feels like there simply wasn’t a market for the guard, which led to this decision.

To be fair, Williams wasn’t comparing Horton-Tucker to Giannis as players. However, using him as one of the reasons why the Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t win it all was certainly foolish, especially with how things transpired the following season. It was also such a strange claim to make after Giannis, coming off two MVPs, just inked a significant contract extension.

Agendas against the Milwaukee Bucks aren’t anything new.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.