Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t be leaving Milwaukee anytime soon.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks agreed to a three-year, $186 million contract extension on Monday. Antetokounmpo teased the news in advance on social media, posting a photo with the NBA Finals trophy and NBA Finals MVP trophy he won during the 2020-21 season.
Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, $228.2 million supermax contract through 2020 that will keep him in Milwaukee through at least the 2024-25 season. His new deal, which eventually includes a player option, should keep Antetokounmpo with the Bucks through the 2027-28 campaign.
Antetokounmpo said earlier this summer that while he knew he deserved such a deal, he wasn’t ready to sign it until everyone was on the same page.
“I wouldn’t be the best version of myself if I didn’t know that everybody was on the same page, everybody was going to the championship, everybody was going to sacrifice time from their families like I am,” Antetokounmpo said in August. “If I don’t feel it, I don’t sign.”
Since he made those comments, the Bucks have clearly made moves to prove to Antetokounmpo that they’re serious about making another title push. Milwaukee traded Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard in a three-team deal with the Phoenix Suns last month, giving first-year head coach Adrian Griffin two superstars to work with this season. That immediately made Milwaukee the betting favorite to win the NBA Finals come June.
Antetokounmpo averaged 31.1 points and 11.8 rebounds per game last season, earning his seventh straight All-Star nod. However, the two-time MVP failed to lead Milwaukee out of the first round of the playoffs. It marked their second straight early exit from the postseason after they won the championship for the second time in 2021.
The Bucks officially open the season Thursday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. With Antetokounmpo now locked up and Lillard now in the mix, the Bucks are betting that the duo will at least be atop the Eastern Conference, if not the entire NBA, for years to come.
