With little forewarning or fanfare, Giannis Antetokounmpo just inked a three-year, $186 million contract extension in Milwaukee—an indisputable victory for Bucks officials and Bucks fans, who can all sleep soundly now, assured that their beloved Greek Freak will be delighting the Deer District through at least 2026-27.
No wait, scratch that. No one in this league can sleep soundly. If we’ve learned anything in the past decade, it’s that superstars leave. They leave to pursue championships. They leave after winning championships. They leave for better teammates, better markets, better weather. They leave as free agents. They demand trades. They force trades. They even force trades after signing lucrative extensions. No one can assume anything, ever, when it comes to NBA superstars and their wanderlust.
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But no, scratch that. We’re talking about Giannis Antetokounmpo, the most genial, grounded two-time MVP we’ve ever seen. The guy who comes to press conferences armed with cheesesteak orders, dad jokes, and the occasional philosophical dissertation on the meaning of “failure.” Giannis is different.
Except, no, wait. We forgot about Kevin Durant and his little backpack. Remember the backpack? Durant wore it to press conferences in Oklahoma City back when he was the league’s young small-market darling. (The contents? An iPad, a Bible, a phone charger, and headphones. Charming!) Oh, and while LeBron James was staging a garish TV show to announce he was ditching Cleveland for Miami in July 2010, Durant was quietly tweeting out his extension to stay in Oklahoma City. Durant was different! Well, until six years later, when he wasn’t.
But wait, that’s not a fair reference. Giannis isn’t KD, and KD isn’t Giannis. Every superstar is different. Every circ*mstance is different. Durant ditched the Thunder after nine years, despite having elite talent around him. Giannis, now starting his 11th season in Milwaukee, has already exceeded Durant’s OKC tenure. He’s won a title there. And he’s stayed despite never playing with costars as gifted as Russell Westbrook or James Harden. Giannis has shown more patience, more faith, a willingness to take the long view.
Except, wait, didn’t Giannis recently tell us he would leave Milwaukee if he believes it’s necessary? “I’m a Milwaukee Buck. But most importantly, I’m a winner,” he told podcaster Ross Geiger in mid-September. “And I have to do whatever it takes for me to win. And if there’s a better situation for me to win the Larry O’Brien [Trophy], I have to take that better situation.” Giannis, you see, is just as much of a mercenary as the next guy.
Except, wait, is he really? Was that truly a threat … or just a little sly posturing? A means of pressuring the Bucks to go all in to fortify the roster? And, well, didn’t they do exactly that with their blockbuster acquisition of Damian Lillard in late September? Giannis asked/cajoled/insisted, the Bucks delivered, and everyone’s happy now, right? Lillard is the most talented costar Giannis has ever had. The Bucks are title favorites. Case closed.
Except, no, the case is never closed in this league, no matter how rosy things look in the moment.
Kawhi Leonard left Toronto just 26 days after delivering a championship. Bradley Beal forced his way out of Washington one year after signing the supermax. Kyrie Irving left Cleveland after three straight Finals runs, including one that ended with a title. And LeBron won two championships in Miami, alongside one of his best friends, for one of the NBA’s most legendary executives, in one of its glitziest markets ... and he still went back to Cleveland in 2014. Why? Because the Heat roster was breaking down—and more worryingly, his BFF Dwyane Wade was breaking down.
The Bucks’ trade for Lillard—a seven-time All-Star and one of the greatest shooters of all time—was an indisputable slam dunk. But Dame is also 33 years old. And guards in their mid-30s tend to fade. What if Lillard starts to break down? What if Khris Middleton (32) and Brook Lopez (35), each with extensive injury histories, can’t stay healthy? Wouldn’t Giannis—understandably, justifiably—want to explore his alternatives, rather than endure a Milwaukee rebuild in his early 30s? Wouldn’t he prefer to avoid the frustration? The failure?
Except, well, as a great Milwaukee philosopher once told us: “There’s no failure in sports. There’s good days, bad days. Some days you’re able to be successful, some days you’re not. Some days it’s your turn, some days it’s not your turn. And that’s what sports is about. You don’t always win. Some other people win.”
So, no, Giannis is most definitely not LeBron or KD or Kawhi or Kyrie or (yikes) Harden. He’s not locked in some perpetual chase for better teammates, grander stages, or sunnier skies. By all indications, he’s not actively trying to go anywhere, except the Finals (and maybe a fast-food drive-through). He cherishes his successes, meditates on his failures, and, either way, shows up to the same gym each morning in downtown Milwaukee.
Which isn’t to say that Giannis is somehow more principled or virtuous than his peers. And if he wakes up one morning next summer, or the summer after that, and asks for a trade, it won’t make him a scoundrel, either—just human. Things change quickly in this league, so we should resist the temptation to turn one man’s contract extension into another contrived morality tale. The values of pro sports are never so simple or clean or consistent. That much we should have learned by now.
