The Heat and Celtics are currently the two main teams connected to Giannis Antetokounmpo, with the Heat appearing to be his preferred destination and the Celtics potentially building a stronger package around Jaylen Brown and future picks. But getting Giannis is one question. Building the right team around him is a completely different one.
Giannis still averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists on 62.4% from the field this past season. He’s one of the most dominant paint scorers in NBA history, but his next team really needs to understand his offensive limitations. He isn’t a reliable outside shooter, which means his best teammate should be someone who creates space, handles the ball, and can actually run a real two-man game with him.
That’s why the Heat fit deserves more skepticism than it’s getting. Bam Adebayo averaged 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds but shot only 31.8% from three, and a Giannis-Adebayo frontcourt would be elite defensively while being a complete spacing nightmare offensively. Opponents could just help off Adebayo, build a wall against Giannis, and dare everyone else to beat them with jump shots.
Jayson Tatum is a better offensive fit because he can score from outside and create his own shot, but he isn’t a classic pick and roll guard who’s constantly creating easy finishes. Their partnership could very easily turn into two great forwards just taking turns instead of one real offensive duo.
The Bucks already learned that adding another superstar name doesn’t automatically fix everything. The Lillard experiment brought injuries, defensive problems, and an offense that never became as dominant as everyone expected.
The best fit next to Giannis should give him what he doesn’t already have, which is elite pull-up shooting, real pick and roll creation, reliable half-court scoring, and someone who can punish teams for loading the paint.
These five superstars fit those requirements way better than Adebayo or Tatum.
5. Cade Cunningham
Pistons Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Bucks Receive: Duncan Robinson, Isaiah Stewart, Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland II, 2028 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick, 2032 first-round pick
Cade Cunningham isn’t the best outside shooter on this list, but he’s already one of the best big playmakers in the whole league. He averaged 23.9 points, 9.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals this season while shooting 46.1% from the field and 34.2% from three. The shooting still needs to get better, but his passing is the real reason this partnership could actually work.
He can control the pace, use his 6-foot-6 frame to see over defenders, and make basically every pass out of a pick and roll. Giannis would become the best screen and roll partner he’s ever had, and defenses couldn’t comfortably switch because Cade could attack a smaller defender while Giannis punishes a guard inside. Drop coverage would also be really risky because Cade has become a real mid-range scorer and can get to his pull-up before the center even recovers.
The Pistons finished 60-22 with a 117.9 offensive rating and the league’s second-ranked defense, so the structure to support another star is already there. Giannis would add rim pressure, transition offense, rebounding, and help defense without forcing Cunningham to change anything about his game.
The full roster fit still needs some work though. Jalen Duren is another non-shooting center, so playing him next to Giannis could create some of the same spacing problems the Heat would have with Adebayo. The Pistons could move Duren in another deal or just use Giannis as the main center in important minutes.
The proposed package sends out around $51.2 million in salary against Giannis’ $58.5 million, which can work under normal matching rules if the Pistons stay below the first apron. Thompson and Holland are major parts of the young core and three first-round picks is genuinely a lot, so the Pistons might reasonably prefer to just keep growing after a 60-win season.
But from a pure basketball standpoint, Cade and Giannis make a lot of sense. Cade creates the easy shots and Giannis finishes them, which is a way more natural star partnership than anything the Heat are currently building.
4. Donovan Mitchell
Cavaliers Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Bucks Receive: Evan Mobley, Sam Merrill, Jaylon Tyson, 2031 first-round pick, 2033 first-round pick
Donovan Mitchell would give Giannis the kind of perimeter scoring threat the Bucks actually wanted when they traded for Lillard, except Mitchell’s younger, more physical at the point of attack, and can defend at a way higher level when he’s fully locked in. He averaged 27.9 points, 5.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals this season while shooting 48.3% from the field and 36.4% from three, and the difference in age and athleticism compared to Lillard is honestly pretty significant.
Mitchell can shoot off the dribble, attack switches, and create late in the shot clock. Defenses already send two players at him in pick and roll situations, and replacing his normal screener with Giannis would make every single one of those coverages way harder to execute. If the defense traps Mitchell, Giannis gets the ball with space to attack. If it stays in drop coverage, Mitchell takes the pull-up three or uses his speed to get to the paint. If it switches, Giannis has a smaller defender.
The Cavaliers also have James Harden as another ball handler, which creates a weird but genuinely talented setup. Mitchell could play more off the ball, Harden could organize the offense, and Giannis could become the primary screener and interior scorer. The defensive fit would also be strong with Jarrett Allen still around.
The obvious problem is Evan Mobley. He’ll make $50.1 million next season, he’s already one of the best defensive big men in the league, and the Cavaliers have reportedly shown zero real interest in moving him for Giannis, which honestly makes complete sense.
Mobley’s younger, under contract for five more seasons, and fits the current core perfectly. But in terms of pure fit, Mitchell and Giannis would form a much more direct two-man partnership than Giannis and Tatum, and Mitchell’s shooting would open the floor in a way Adebayo simply can’t.
3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Thunder Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Bucks Receive: Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso, No. 12 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, 2028 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick
Shai and Giannis wouldn’t be a normal shooting and screening partnership. It would be something genuinely harder to stop than almost anything else in the league. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.1 points, 6.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 steals this season while shooting 55.3% from the field, 38.6% from three, and finishing with a 66.5% true shooting mark.
He won his second straight MVP because teams had no real answer for how he gets to the paint, and Giannis creates the same kind of pressure but with more size and power.
Putting them together forces defenses into impossible decisions on every single possession. Giannis could screen for Shai without becoming just a roll man, because Shai’s comfortable attacking from the wing or mid-post, which means Giannis could cut from the opposite side, attack offensive rebounds, or receive the ball after the first defender rotates.
Defensively, a Shai-Giannis-Holmgren frontcourt would be genuinely ridiculous. Shai’s a strong guard defender, Giannis can cover almost any position, and Holmgren protects the rim. The Thunder already finished 64-18 with the league’s best defensive rating.
The trade package would also be stronger than basically anything the Heat can put together. Jalen Williams at $41.3 million and Alex Caruso at $19.6 million combine for around $60.8 million to match Giannis’ salary, and Williams is a 25-year-old All-NBA level forward who’d immediately become the centerpiece of whatever the Bucks are building next.
The problem is this trade almost certainly doesn’t happen. The Thunder are above the second apron, which means they can’t aggregate Williams and Caruso in one deal without first moving other contracts. More importantly, they have no real basketball reason to do this.
They won the 2025 championship, finished with 64 wins this season, and nearly returned to the Finals. Reports have indicated they aren’t pursuing Giannis. But as a pure fit exercise, this is one of the best pairings on the entire list.
2. Stephen Curry
Warriors Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Bucks Receive: Jimmy Butler, Brandin Podziemski, No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, 2028 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick (top-20 protected), 2032 first-round pick
Stephen Curry’s probably the easiest stylistic fit next to Giannis of anyone on this list, and the reason is pretty simple. Curry changes where every defender stands before the play even starts. His man can’t leave him. The center has to move higher toward the screen. Weak-side defenders have to track him even when he doesn’t have the ball. That creates exactly the kind of space Giannis needs to be at his most dangerous.
A Curry-Giannis pick and roll would produce bad options for the defense no matter what they choose. Trap Curry and Giannis attacks four against three. Play drop coverage and Curry shoots. Switch the screen and Giannis attacks a guard while Curry drags a big man all the way to the perimeter.
Curry’s off-ball movement also makes him fundamentally different from Lillard as a co-star, because Curry doesn’t need to control the ball for the whole action. He can pass to Giannis, relocate, set screens, and pull defenders out of the paint without ever touching the ball again.
The Warriors finished only 37-45 this season, but injuries were a massive factor. Curry played only 43 games and Jimmy Butler tore his ACL. Adding Giannis would give Curry one last real championship window, and the package built around Butler’s $56.8 million salary and Podziemski’s $5.7 million contract gets to around $62.5 million in outgoing salary, which covers Giannis.
The weakness is obvious, though. There’s no young star in the package. Podziemski’s useful but he isn’t Williams, or Mobley, or Thompson. Butler’s 37 and coming off a major knee injury. The value is almost entirely in the picks, and recent reporting has placed the Warriors outside the main Giannis destinations anyway.
The basketball fit is still nearly perfect, but the return package would be a really hard sell for the Bucks.
1. Luka Doncic
Lakers Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Bucks Receive: Austin Reaves (sign-and-trade), Dalton Knecht, No. 25 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, 2031 first-round pick, 2033 first-round pick, 2032 first-round pick (swap)
Luka Doncic is the best possible offensive partner for Giannis, and it honestly isn’t that close. He averaged an NBA-leading 33.5 points with 8.3 assists, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.6 steals this season while shooting 47.6% from the field, 36.6% from three, and making 4.0 threes per game.
He’s also one of the best pick and roll players in NBA history, controlling every part of every possession and keeping defenses completely off balance from start to finish.
Giannis would become the most dangerous roll man Luka’s ever played with. Teams already send two defenders toward Luka because letting him reach the paint means an open three or a lob. If Giannis is setting that screen, the defense might genuinely need three players to control the action, which means someone’s always open somewhere on the floor.
Switching isn’t really an option because Luka can attack a center while Giannis seals a guard. Drop coverage gives Luka his step-back or floater. Trapping Luka gives Giannis the ball in the middle of the floor with only one rim protector left.
Giannis would also help on the other end in a real way. The Lakers finished 53-29 but their defense wasn’t as reliable as their offense, and Giannis could guard the best forward, protect the rim as a helper, rebound, and cover some of the defensive limitations Luka brings.
The trade package is the weakest part of this whole idea though. Austin Reaves would need to come over through a sign-and-trade on a deal around four years and $120.0 million, and while the picks could become really valuable once Luka and Giannis are older, the Bucks would be waiting years to see any of that.
Knecht’s already 25 and hasn’t developed into a real starter. The Lakers would also need to renounce basically every free agent to create the cap room, which leaves Luka and Giannis with a super thin roster and almost no money to fill it out. The Bucks would probably reject this unless Giannis made it crystal clear he’d only sign his extension with the Lakers.
But the fit’s still number one. Luka gives Giannis elite passing, pull-up shooting, half-court control, and a player who can create the final shot of every important game. Giannis gives Luka the best interior scorer, transition finisher, rebounder, and defensive partner of his career. Other pairings might be easier to actually build. None of them would be harder to defend.
Why The Heat Might Be A Bad Option
The Heat might be Antetokounmpo’s preferred destination, but preference and basketball fit are two different things.
The main problem is the pairing with Bam Adebayo. He is most useful as a screener, short-roll passer, mid-range scorer, and interior defender. Those are also areas where Giannis needs space around him.
A Giannis-Adebayo frontcourt would be incredible defensively. They could switch, protect the rim, rebound, and cover almost every matchup. The problem would start in the other side. Opposing centers could stay near the paint against Adebayo, while the other defenders build a wall against Giannis. The Heat would need three high-level shooters around them almost all the time.
The trade cost makes that harder. A realistic package could remove Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, the No. 13 pick, and future first-round picks. Herro is their best pull-up shooter and secondary creator. Losing him would leave the Heat without the exact type of guard Giannis needs.
The money is another issue. Giannis will make $58.5 million in 2026-27, while Adebayo will earn $49.5 million. That is around $108.0 million committed to two frontcourt players who are not dependable three-point shooters. The Heat would have limited flexibility to add enough shooting and ball-handling around them.
The Heat’s coaching, defense, and culture would give the partnership a high floor. Erik Spoelstra could build an elite transition team and use Giannis as a screener more often. Still, the Heat could trade most of their young depth for a duo that creates major spacing problems.
Giannis would make the Heat better. That doesn’t mean Miami is the destination that would make Giannis the most dangerous.
