The doubt about the future of the Greek power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was resolved this Tuesday after agreeing with his current team, the Milwaukee Bucks, the extension of his contract for five years and 228 million dollars.
In the absence of the agreement being made official, Antetokounmpo’s agent, Alex Saratsis, informed the media that the contract also includes an opt-out after the fourth year is up.
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo himself, through Twitter and Instagram, also confirmed the agreement, noting that he will be lucky enough to be part of the Bucks for the next five years.
“Let’s make these years count. The show continues, let’s do it,” Antetokounmpo points out in his messages.
The deal leaves next summer’s free agent market without the biggest player who could have been in the market since forward Kevin Durant entered in 2016, leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to sign with the Golden Warriors. State.
Antetokoumpo, 26, already has two consecutive league Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in his possession and last season he also won the Defender of the Year award to join legendary Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as all three. the only ones in NBA history who won them in the same league.
He also joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James as the only players to win multiple NBA MVP Awards at age 25.
The Bucks franchise player finished the reduced season with averages of 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists, the best of his professional career.
But the Bucks, who finished with the best record in the league, did not go beyond the semifinals of the Eastern Conference, being eliminated in 2019 by the Toronto Raptors and this year by the Miami Heat.
The Bucks with Antetokounmpo continue with the unfinished business of reaching the NBA Finals, something they have not achieved since 1974 when they had the legendary Abdul-Jabbar as a franchise player.
After his sixth year with the Bucks, who were given their only title in their history in 1971, Abdul-Jabbar asked to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he triumphed with the historic “Show Time” style of play. next to the legendary Magic Johnson, partner, and Pat Riley, coach.
Antetokounmpo, selected 15th by the Bucks in the 2013 college draft, came to the NBA as a stranger from Greek second division basketball and in his rookie year he played just 23 games with an average of 6.8 points. .
The resurgence of his game began in the third season in the NBA when he achieved an average of 16.9 points and won the award for the player who made the most progress and contribution to the team, for the following year he went to the All-Star Game, in which it is already a fixed with four consecutive selections.
Antetokounmpo has improved his scoring average every season he has been in the league and last season (29.5) allowed him to be the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to average at least 29 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
With NBA teams clearing the cap space in hopes of chasing Antetokounmpo next summer, Milwaukee entered a critical offseason with the desire to persuade their best player since Abdul-Jabbar to stick with a cast. solid support.
Before free agency, the Bucks agreed to a trade that brought in former All-Star Jrue Holiday as part of a four-team deal, and also signed DJ Augustin, Bryn Forbes and Torrey Craig, while retaining point guard Pat Connaughton.
