NBA: Giannis Antetokounmpo taking time before deciding on Bucks extension
FILE – Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles the ball during the first half of Game 4 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Miami Heat, Monday, April 24, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)
MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo says he wants to see how committed the Milwaukee Bucks are to competing for another championship before deciding whether to sign a contract extension.
The two-time MVP will become eligible next month to extend the deal that currently runs through the 2024-25 season, with a player option for 2025-26. Antetokounmpo told The New York Times he wouldn’t sign an extension this year. He said it might make more sense next summer, “but even then, I don’t know.”
“I would not be the best version of myself if I don’t know that everybody’s on the same page, everybody’s going for a championship, everybody’s going to sacrifice time away from their family like I do,” Antetokounmpo said. “And if I don’t feel that, I’m not signing.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks is defended by Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat during the first half of Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Fiserv Forum on April 16, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Stacy Revere/Getty Images/AFP
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first title in a half-century in 2021, seven months after signing a supermax extension. But the Bucks haven’t gotten beyond the second round of the playoffs the last two seasons.
The Bucks posted the NBA’s best regular-season record in 2022-23 but lost 4-1 to the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. They followed that up by firing coach Mike Budenholzer and replacing him with former Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin.
Antetokounmpo said he wanted to “see the dynamics” of how everything works with the new coaching staff before deciding whether to stay in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo also mentioned his hopes of playing his entire career with one franchise.
“But at the end of the day, being a winner, it’s over that goal,” Antetokounmpo said. “Winning a championship comes first. I don’t want to be 20 years on the same team and don’t win another championship.”
