Giannis Antetokounmpo survived the NBA trade deadline, though most of the reporting at the time suggested he would not. While he’s almost always in trade rumors, this year felt different, more prevalent. Still, the Milwaukee Bucks kept him.
This prompted the rumors to take a different shape. For now, Antetokounmpo is a Buck, but what about next summer? Trading will resume, and many expected the Bucks to move on from their two-time MVP to rebuild.
According to the player himself, though, that’s not likely. As of now, he remains fully committed to the Milwaukee Bucks, no matter what reporters claim.
Giannis Antetokounmpo confirms commitment to Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo made his feelings plain in an interview. Without mincing words, he told ESPN’s Malika Andrews at All-Star Weekend that he has no plans to leave the Bucks this summer or any time in the future.
“As of today, I’m committed to the Milwaukee Bucks,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m committed to the people that I work with, my teammates, the coaching staff, Coach Doc (Rivers), and (GM) Jon (Horst) in the front office.” Of course, he did specify “today.” Some will take that and run with it.
He continued, “What I’ve said from the beginning of this year is that, out of my mouth and the way I’ve carried myself, you will never hear me say I don’t want to be a Milwaukee Buck.” All of the exit talk has been purely external.
Antetokounmpo is in a small market, and one of the teams he was reportedly interested in going to was the New York Knicks. It hardly gets any bigger, and that was a team he always considered playing for while growing up.
“Growing up, you dream, ‘Oh, what if I played for the Knicks, Madison Square Garden? What if I get drafted by the Lakers and I’m teammates with Kobe? What if I go play for the Cavs and LeBron passes me the ball?'” Antetokounmpo said. The forward also admitted that he’d thought about how he would have fit in with recent title teams like the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder.
What the superstar wants
The ESPN report on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s comments reiterated that the Bucks reportedly listened to offers and that the two-time MVP was open to a new home, specifying that he was open to moving in-season or in the offseason.
Ultimately, Antetokounmpo is about winning. The driving factor behind the Antetokounmpo rumors is that the Bucks have and will continue to have trouble building a true winner around the superstar big man. They won in 2020-2021, and that’s all he’s thought about since.
“You want that steak again,” he said. This year, it remains unlikely. The Bucks sit outside the Play-In Tournament in the East, and Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since January. If he can return, they are only two games out of a spot.
And if the Bucks catch fire and get in, they could be an upset candidate with Antetokounmpo. But as of now, a playoff berth seems quite unlikely. Antetokounmpo’s return isn’t on the horizon, though the Bucks do not plan on shutting him down.
Either way, Antetokounmpo isn’t planning to quit on the Bucks or look for a way out. Even if they fail to make the postseason this year, the forward said it is his team and that he still loves it. Whether or not he will love it forever remains to be seen, but it’s worth noting that he’s been the subject of trade rumors for years and has remained loyal.
So far, he’s a Buck for life, and he currently intends on keeping it that way.
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