Giannis Antetokounmpo Says He Wants To Return To NBA Finals With Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo told Brazilian outlet “Coast to Coast” that he wants to return to the NBA Finals with the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Antetokounmpo has not requested a trade from the Bucks, the only NBA franchise he’s ever played for. 

The Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of this year’s playoffs in five games. Milwaukee has won just one postseason series since winning the 2021 championship against the Phoenix Suns in six games. 

Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP, a one-time Finals MVP, a one-time Defensive Player of the Year and a nine-time All-Star. He has career averages of 23.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks. 

Antetokounmpo, 30, will make $54,126,380 next season. The Bucks signed the forward to a three-year, $175 million extension in October 2023.

Antetokounmpo is one of the top players in the NBA. He averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks for the Bucks this season while shooting 60.1% from the field and 61.7% from the free-throw line.

The Greek Freak made the All-NBA First Team this year, but his team was bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Pacers for the second year in a row. 

According to Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm, “several teams” around the NBA assume Antetokounmpo will remain with the Bucks.

“There hasn’t been a definitive and certain statement from Giannis Antetokounmpo or the Bucks leaked to the media about his intention to stay, but the tea leaves all read that way, and that’s the assumption being made by several teams,” Moore wrote. “So once again, everyone buried the Giannis Bucks era, and once again, the Greatest Buck Ever looks set to stay the course with the team that drafted him. You can’t blame Bucks fans for laughing at everyone and taking the victory lap once again.”