By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo completed ten years with the Milwaukee Bucks this summer, and the franchise’s leaders have no plans of letting him leave any time soon.
The Bucks’ general manager, Jon Horst, discussed the fact that the Greek international will be eligible for a contract extension in September.
“I mean, that’s our job. He is the most incredible human, superstar, teammate, and leader, I believe, in all of sports, and we’re incredibly blessed to have him. It’s an awesome responsibility to win and compete every year to be in a position to keep him.
I think that’s my job and my responsibility, and it’s my opportunity and his opportunity and our team’s opportunity. And (Bucks coach) Griff and (Bucks president) Peter Feigin share in that, as do our owners. I think it’s really cool to have that chance to be able to do that.
We’ve been able to do it so far, and we’ll do everything we can to do it again,” Horst said to The Athletic.
Giannis signed a five-year deal with Milwaukee in 2021, worth $228,200,420, with a player option for the 2025-26 season, but he could be eligible for an extension as early as next September.
In a decade spent with the club, Giannis has played 719 regular season games, averaging 22.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, as well as 26.6 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.2 assists in his 79 playoff appearances.
He led the Bucks to the NBA championship in 2021 as the Finals MVP and won two MVP awards in 2019 and 2020.
Horst still believes that the core players who won the NBA title in 2021 can achieve it again, even though in the last two seasons, they haven’t been as successful in the playoffs.
“We still believe we have the best player in the world, who is incredibly motivated, and these guys still fit, and they’re also really motivated. They want to do more. I think we’re all proud of who we’ve been and who we are, but I think they are also really hungry to get back on top and show everyone that we can do what we think we can do.
Credit to Miami. I mean, they had a hell of a run, and they beat us fair and square. The year before, we lost to the team that went to the NBA Finals in seven games.
So even though we haven’t reached that point, I don’t feel like we’re super far away, and we believe in this core. We believe in Pat Connaughton. We believe in Bobby Portis. Obviously, we have committed to Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton going forward and Giannis and Jrue Holiday, and that’s a really, really strong core group of guys. We’re excited to see what Griff and his staff do to take the next step with that group.”