Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo is the most important player in the East
By Tron Griffin
As the Milwaukee Bucks continue to prove to be contenders, it’s hard to argue against Giannis Antetokounmpo being the most important player in the Eastern Conference
Coming into the season, not many thought much of the Milwaukee Bucks. Much less them being any such factor in who would come out of the Eastern Conference this season. For many years, the Bucks were seen nothing more than an easy W for most teams in the league. Milwaukee was never a hot bed for free agents, either.
That’s not to say that the Bucks have not had success in the NBA before. Milwaukee won a championship with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the “Big O” Oscar Robertson in 1971. Roughly 30 years later, the Ray Allen-led Bucks won the Central Division title and lost in Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals to the Allen Iverson led Philadelphia 76ers, but, still, what superstar player would choose to stay in Milwaukee?
I have nothing against Milwaukee. I just know how many NBA agents operate. Many agents want their star talent to play in a major city where they would get more media attention and endorsement offers.
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The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo is a star player in the league who could possibly make millions more if he played in a big city.
Milwaukee fans will say look at LeBron James. He played in Cleveland, a city with a smaller population than Milwaukee, but the truth is, James was a transcending player.
James entered the league with more hype than 95 percent of the top college basketball players. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was in high school. He was a star before his first NBA game and later became one of the greatest players of all-time.
However, early in James career he nor the Cleveland Cavaliers could convince a star player in their prime to come to Cleveland. So, James, took his talent to South Beach to play for the Miami Heat alongside All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
In several interviews, Antetokounmpo, has expressed his intention on staying in Milwaukee. In an interview with the New York Times, Antetokounmpo said:
"“I’m a low-profile guy, I don’t like all these flashy cities like L.A. or Miami. I don’t know if I could be the same player if I played in those cities.”"
Antetokounmpo sounds like he is 100 percent sure that he will stay in Milwaukee, but two NBA agents and one former GM told Hoopshype they believe Antetokounmpo will leave Milwaukee once he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021.
Who knows what Antetokounmpo will actually do in the summer of 2021, but I do see what he is doing in Milwaukee. He has brought the respect back to the Bucks franchise. Some will say James Harden, Kevin Durant, LeBron or Stephen Curry is the most important player in the league, which might be true, but Antetokounmpo is doing what few people thought was possible.
Giannis has the Bucks sitting atop the Eastern Conference with a good chance of making the Finals. He is a superstar in a city that desperately needs a sports superstar. And a city that has long been in the shadow of the Green Bay Packers and the six championship Chicago Bulls who are a short 90 miles away.
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So, in some sense, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the most important player in the league or at least the Eastern Conference. He is carrying the weight of a whole city who cannot afford to lose him.