Giannis Antetokounmpo committed his long-term future to the Milwaukee Bucks, signing an extension that keeps him with the franchise until 2028. Giannis revealed he had consulted stars who had been in a similar situation as him on what he should do, with them telling him to leave Milwaukee, as revealed by ESPN.
“That summer, I was calling people that were in my position in the past. I was like, ‘What do I do? Do you stay? Do you not stay? Do you stay? Do you not stay?’ And everybody was basically telling me not to stay.
Giannis ignored the advice and went with his gut feeling, committing to the franchise a year earlier than he had to.
“But my gut said, ‘No. I’m here. They gave me an opportunity. They changed my life. I’m here.’ And when I was driving back to my house, I called the GM [Jon Horst] and told him, ‘I’m signing.’ Then all of a sudden everybody went downtown, I signed the contract and I said, ‘We’re going to win.'”
Giannis had started the summer by feeding speculation into an eventual departure from the Bucks, claiming he wouldn’t extend with the franchise if they didn’t continue strengthening the team to win now. The Bucks listened and got him Damian Lillard as a teammate before the offseason ended, earning Giannis’ trust enough for him to commit to the team as well.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Went Through The Same In 2020
The 2020 offseason was a complicated one, happening over just about two months after the Orlando bubble. During that time, Giannis extended his contract with the Bucks after a playoff loss to the Miami Heat with people drooling over the possibility of Antetokounmpo being a free agent in 2021.
The Bucks made the trade for Jrue Holiday that offseason which led to Giannis inking the extension one season earlier. He followed a similar pattern this summer, losing to the Heat, seeing speculation on a possible exit, and re-signing after the team made a massive win-now trade. He commented on the same as well.
“Two years ago when I said the same thing, nobody talked about it because they knew that I was here for the next five years. It’s something I’m going to say until I retire — and expect for myself until I leave this earth. I always expect to do the best that I can do. I expect to win. I don’t want to be in a place where I don’t have a chance to win. And sorry if people feel the wrong way about that; that’s on them.”
The decision in 2021 was rewarded with a title in their first year of trying. Will that same luck befall the Bucks once again?
Giannis Antetokounmpo Called The Bucks Damian Lillard’s Team
Giannis hasn’t had a teammate as offensively potent as Damian Lillard. He has been wanting to share the responsibilities of leading the franchise and is comfortable in sharing that with Lillard.
“Winning, I’m about sacrifice. I’m about putting the work in each day… I might be here, but this is his team. It doesn’t matter what people say.”
After seeing Dame carry the Bucks to victory in their season opener with 37 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, he must be on top of the world. Giannis led the NBA in usage rate last season, a mind-boggling fact given he is a non-shooting forward. Having Dame will lighten his load and allow him to be the best teammate possible to one of the best scorers of this generation.
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