Giannis Sends Out Warning To Bucks About His Future

In December of 2020, Milwaukee Bucks fans celebrated when Giannis Antetokounmpo signed a 5-year, $228M contract to stay with the team. They celebrated again in 2021 when the Greek Freak led them to an NBA title.

But they may be getting a little nervous right about now after comments the superstar made in the New York Times in an article that dropped today. It's about a decision he'll have to make next summer about whether to re-sign in Milwaukee.

Giannis Antetokounmpo says he’s not signing an extension in Milwaukee next summer if everyone isn’t on the same page

“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… pic.twitter.com/M2GB601JJ1
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 24, 2023

“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. And if I don’t feel that, I’m not signing.

“I don’t want to be 20 years on the same team and don’t win another championship,” Giannis added.

The two-time MVP will actually be eligible in a few weeks for a three-year extension worth about $173M, but everyone can forget about him signing this summer.

“The real question’s not going to be this year — numbers-wise it doesn’t make sense,” Antetokounmpo said. “But next year, next summer it would make more sense for both parties. Even then, I don’t know.”

Why the doubt now? For one reason, Giannis pointed to the change in head coach that the Bucks made this summer, jettisoning Mike Budenholzer who led them to that championship two years ago, and bringing in former Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin.

“You’ve got to see the dynamics,” he said. “How the coach is going to be, how we’re going to be together. At the end of the day, I feel like all my teammates know and the organization knows that I want to win a championship. As long as we’re on the same page with that and you show me and we go together to win a championship, I’m all for it. The moment I feel like, oh, yeah, we’re trying to rebuild —”

He paused there, and that certainly gives Bucks fans pause.

Turns out this could be a franchise-defining season in Milwaukee.