A day after Giannis Antetokounmpo broke the news himself that he would be staying in Milwaukee, the Bucks star explained what persuaded him to remain with the only organization he’s ever played for in the NBA.
Antetokounmpo agreed to a three-year, $186 million extension on Monday with a player option for the 2027-28 season, ending speculation that he could head elsewhere.
The two-time NBA MVP told reporters on Tuesday that his loyalty is what led him to sign the extension with the Bucks.
He said that anyone who is there from the beginning, “I’m there for you for the rest of our lifetime.”
Antetokounmpo has played his entire NBA career with the Bucks and helped lead the franchise to a championship in 2021.
“For the Milwaukee Bucks organization, they’ve been there with me since the beginning,” Antetokounmpo told reporters Tuesday. “They changed my life, they changed my family’s life. My kids were born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That’s what their passport says. My mom is here enjoying her life. My dad spent a couple years here before he passed away. My brothers went to school here — private school that before I came here I was not able to afford in my lifetime. My kids are going to a private school.
“They’ve changed my life tremendously.”
The Bucks star and two-time NBA MVP became eligible to sign an extension in September and had initially said that he hadn’t planned on signing one because it would have cost him money to do so.
Nevertheless, conversations with his family changed his perspective.
“But then I had a conversation with my family, aka GM [Thanasis Antetokounmpo], that it would make more sense for me to sign because I’d be able to — first of all, you don’t know what tomorrow holds —have eligibility to re-sign in 2026. I don’t remember what he told me, but that was the smartest thing to do, so I just kind of trust his thinking,” Antetokounmpo explained.
What seemed to mean the most for Antetokounmpo — lovingly referred to as the “Greek Freak” — was his admiration for his adopted home of Milwaukee and the way the city and organization have embraced him and his family.
“I’m extremely happy. I know the ins and outs of the city,” Antetokounmpo said. “The city shows me a lot of love and also whenever I go out there and have time with my family, they also give me space, which is crazy to me. When they see me on the street, they give me space. They respect who I am as a person and what I’ve done for the city of Milwaukee. And for that, I can’t turn my back.
“Not now, not in the future, not never. And I want to be committed. I want to give back to the city of Milwaukee.
“We won one championship, but I believe that we can win a second. I’m going to try my best. I’m going to do what I always do, which is try to have fun while playing the game and I hope I can create another parade in the near future that 600,000 people, the whole of Milwaukee can be out there celebrating.”
The Bucks open their season on Thursday at home against the 76ers.
Read more
