USA Today via Reuters
Aug 22, 2020; Lake Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots against the Orlando Magic in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at The Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 22, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Mandatory Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Aug 22, 2020; Lake Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots against the Orlando Magic in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at The Field House at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 22, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Mandatory Credit: Mike Ehrmann/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
The biggest contract extension story of this season has come to an end. The Milwaukee Bucks have managed to bring back Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has signed a five-year super-max extension with the franchise worth $228.2 million. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, this is the largest deal in NBA History.
This is bad news for all the suitors who were desperately in pursuit of Giannis, in case he hadn’t re-signed with the Bucks by December 21. If he had let go of this extension, he would have entered the free agency market in the 2020-21 offseason. The news of his re-signing is most disappointing for the Miami Heat.
It was rumored that Heat was the most likely landing spot for Giannis. In fact, every move Miami made this offseason revolved around having enough cap space to acquire Giannis in the future. Also, because Bam Adebayo and Giannis had the same agent, the Heat’s chances looked much higher than the remaining teams.
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Now, it doesn’t look like Giannis is going anywhere for a long time. Although the Heat should be upset, their star player, Jimmy Butler, is happy for the Greek Freak.
USA Today via Reuters
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) pressures Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) during the second half of game two of the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at The Field House. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Giannis is the best competition
While most expected Giannis to leave the Bucks, Jimmy Butler claimed that he wasn’t surprised at all. He even compared Giannis to LeBron James and spoke about how he would be honored to play against someone as tough as him.
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As per Nick Friedell, “Jimmy Butler said he wasn’t surprised Giannis re-signed and is looking forward to Heat/Bucks matchups in years to come.” According to Friedell, Jimmy said, “I like it. I don’t think you can go around him. I don’t think you can go around LeBron either. You got to go right through them. You got to beat them. There’s a lot of squads in this East that you got to go through … It doesn’t intimidate me none. I want to go up against the best. I know my guys want to go up against the best. That’s our way to show that we belong. That’s how we gain our respect.”
…"There's a lot of squads in this East that you got to go through … It doesn't intimidate me none. I want to go up against the best. I know my guys want to go up against the best. That's our way to show that we belong. That's how we gain our respect."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) December 15, 2020
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It seems like Giannis is following in the footsteps of players like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. Both these legends played for one franchise in their entire NBA career. Despite being the top seed in the past two years, the Bucks get eliminated in the playoffs. With a second scoring option like Jrue Holiday in the roster, will Giannis finally get a title for his home?
