You came to Milwaukee 13 years ago as a kid from Sepolia with an impossible dream. Over the past 13 years we have witnessed you grow into one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, the greatest Buck of all time, and the driving force behind an era of Bucks basketball that will be remembered forever.
From the moment you arrived, you embraced Milwaukee as your home. You embraced the team, the community, and everyone who believed in you. Your connection with Bucks fans transcended basketball. You didn’t just play basketball in Milwaukee, you became the heart and soul of this city. You touched lives throughout our community and inspired people across the world. You believed in this city and its fans when the rest of the world doubted.
After 50 years, you delivered a championship to Milwaukee. A dream come true for generations of Bucks fans who never stopped believing. You gave Milwaukee hope. You taught us that loyalty still matters. That hard work can overcome impossible odds, and that a small-market city could still be on top all because you refused to stop believing. For one night, Milwaukee wasn’t just watching history, we were living it together.
Your legacy in Milwaukee is secured and will always be felt here. In the rafters, throughout the community, in the countless people you inspired, and the way you made an entire city believe that anything was possible.
Thank you for believing in Milwaukee and giving everything you had to this city day in and day out. You transformed the Bucks in every way, and left your mark on this organization for generations to come. You’ll always be family. You’ll always be Milwaukee’s champion. Forever a part of this city. Forever a Buck. Thank you for everything, Giannis.
If the Bucks are not pleased with the trade offers on the table and opt to retain No. 34, the organization would likely be confident that Giannis wouldn’t walk away for nothing in free agency during the summer of 2027.
The teams currently engaged in talks with Milwaukee could believe they have leverage in negotiations because of that possibility and, therefore, may not be willing to sacrifice the farm in a potential deal.
Antetokounmpo has a $62.7M player option for the 2027-28 season, but he is eligible to sign a four-year, $275M extension with the Bucks in October.
If the Bucks believe Giannis won’t turn down that money — which is certainly possible considering his injury history and the importance of long-term financial security — there is far less incentive for Milwaukee to trade its franchise star below fair value this summer.
However, if the two-time MVP indicates no interest in signing another long-term extension, then it clearly makes the most sense for both sides to part ways this offseason, ideally before the upcoming draft.
It’s a difficult situation, but I think it’s notable that Giannis has not officially requested a trade to this point. It still seems unlikely that the 10-time All-Star remains with the franchise that drafted him after 13 seasons, but despite the popular sentiment, I’m not ready to completely rule out the possibility of Antetokounmpo and the Bucks moving forward together, especially if Milwaukee’s asking price isn’t met.
The amount of emotions this video still brings until this day is wild. 2021 will NEVER BE TOPPED for me. I’ll show this to my kids one day man, I will say I hope we can do this again with @Giannis_An34
If I’m Adam Silver I would go no mercy on the Bucks, make an example out of them and put an end to this tanking stuff
They should be stripped of their hall of fame head coach, effective immediately
Just In: Conversations have started about @ShamsCharania’s future, and discussing whether the ESPN Senior NBA Insider’s best fit is staying on Giannis’ All-Star Celebrity team or elsewhere.
“If you ask me what do I really want, deep down in my heart? I want to be a Milwaukee Buck until I retire and win a championship here.”
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
(https://t.co/vEx2mVuFUO)
Daniel Whelan kept it simple when asked why he believes this team can make a playoff run: "Because we're the Green Bay #Packers, man. That's why. We're a good team. I think we can win it all this year."