MILWAUKEE — A sigh of relief and a simultaneous fist-pump from the city of Milwaukee, as two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo will officially sign his five-year supermax extension to remain with the Bucks.
According to Shams Charania, the extension is five years, $228.8 million. This is the largest contract in NBA history.
Bucks president Peter Feigin couldn’t hide his excitement, reading the tweet aloud during a Milwaukee Press Club event on Tuesday.
“Giannis is a generational player,” Feigin said. “This is one of the great days in Bucks history. It’s hard to state the importance of it. It’s monumental.”
Let’s face it, money was no object here. Keeping the back-to-back NBA MVP allows the organization to remain on the map with the big market teams, and most importantly it keeps their title hopes alive for another five seasons.
According to Basketball Reference, Antetokounmpo is already the franchise leader in defense rebounds at 3, 812 (second in total rebounds behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and triple-doubles with 18. He’s also seventh on the Bucks’ all-time leading scorer list with 10,602 points, and second in player efficiency rating.
With the Greek Freak choosing to stay in Milwaukee, this gives him a chance to recruit other super star NBA players to Milwaukee too. History reveals that big name free agents don’t typically sign in Milwaukee, but with Antetokounmpo still in the picture that retoric could be erased.
Through his eight seasons in Milwaukee, here are some photos highlighting some of the best Giannis moments.