According to ESPN, Giannis Antetokounmpo; the NBA’s reigning two-time Most Valuable Player, has signed a multi-year extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, the team announced.
Antetokounmpo’s agent, Alex Saratsis, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that it will be for the full five-year; $228 million supermax, including an opt-out after the fourth year.
“This is my home, this is my city,” Antetokounmpo posted on Twitter and Instagram on Tuesday. “I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it.”
This is my home, this is my city.. I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it. 🤎🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/895tCBE9RK
— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) December 15, 2020
Had he passed on the offer, he would have been an unrestricted free agent next summer and the biggest name to hit the market since Kevin Durant in 2016.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is coming off a career year in which he became just the third player in league history to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, joining Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon. He also averaged career highs in points (29.5) and rebounds (13.6) to go with 5.6 assists per game and a 31.9 player efficiency rating — the highest in a season in NBA history, per ESPN Stats & Information data.
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
“This is a big moment for me and my family and I want to thank the Bucks organization for believing in us,” Antetokounmpo said in a statement Tuesday after the signing was official. “You took a chance on us eight years ago and now putting my signature on a contract like this is unreal.”
For all their regular-season success, the Bucks have reached the conference finals just once in Antetokounmpo’s seven-year tenure and haven’t reached the NBA Finals since 1974 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who ultimately asked to be traded from Milwaukee after his sixth season as a three-time league MVP.
