NBA Rumors: There is speculation that Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo could leave as a free agent in 2025. The “Greek Freak” wants to win wherever he decides to play.
Don’t worry Milwaukee Bucks fans, Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t want to go anywhere. Yet.
In 2021, Giannis Antetokounmpo helped clinch Milwaukee’s first major sports championship in 50 years with a historical performance. The “Greek Freak” scored 50 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and blocked five shots in Game 6, leading the Bucks to a 4-2 series win in the 2021 NBA Finals.
The Bucks have not gotten past the Eastern Conference semifinals since. That includes a disappointing first-round exit at the hands of the eighth-seeded Miami Heat in last year’s playoffs. Giannis suffered a back injury in Game 1 and the Bucks were never the same.
Antetokounmpo has been adamant about winning another championship. He may even be willing to leave Milwaukee to do so.
The “Greek Freak” appeared on the “48 Minutes” podcast earlier this week. One of the hosts of the show is former Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Ross Geiger. It was Antetokounmpo’s first appearance on a podcast. The two-time NBA MVP had plenty to say including the following:
"“At the end of the day, I am a winner. I want to be a winner. Contracts, fame, status, comfort zone does not matter to me. What matters the end of the day is that thing right there.”"
Giannis said that pointing to a replica Larry O’Brien trophy behind him. He also went on to say:
"“I can see myself being with the Milwaukee Bucks for the rest of my career. But the moment I feel like people are not as committed as I am to get that golden thing in the back, I am not…” “I’m a Milwaukee Buck. But most importantly, I’m a winner. I want to win. And I have to do whatever it takes for me to win. And if there’s a better situation for me to win the Larry O’Brien, I have to take that better situation.”"
You can check out the entire interview here – 48 Minutes: Giannis Antetokounmpo Unplugged.
Antetokounmpo is entering his 11th NBA season – all in Milwaukee. The 7-time All-Star is under contract with the Bucks for this season and next. He has a player option for the 2025-26 season but will likely opt out and become a free agent after the 2024-25 season.
More importantly, the “Greek Freak” is now eligible for a contract extension – one that he plans on NOT signing this offseason.
Giannis put pressure on the Bucks to build a contending team the last time he was up for an extension in 2020. The Bucks made some moves which included trading for Jrue Holiday. Antetokounmpo then signed a five-year $228 million extension. He won a ring that following July.
It sounds like Antetokounmpo is once again applying pressure on the Bucks to remain contenders. Milwaukee’s front office has their work cut out for them. Three of their main four core players, including Giannis, will be free agents during the 2025 offseason. Holiday will be 35 years old and has hinted at retiring when his contract expires. Khris Middleton will be 34. Brook Lopez will be 37.
Oh, and the Milwaukee Bucks are an NBA luxury tax repeater this season after re-signing Lopez and Middleton to big-money deals. Oof.
Could Giannis Antetokounmpo really leave the Milwaukee Bucks? Maybe. Here are five teams that may have a shot at acquiring the “Greek Freak” in the summer of 2025, or even earlier.
New York Knicks
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst made headlines back in May during an appearance on the network’s “First Take.” He implied that the Knicks are keeping an eye on Antetokounmpo’s “situation” with the Milwaukee Bucks.
An NBA team is interested in acquiring one of the league’s biggest stars. In other news, water is wet.
Why wouldn’t any of the other 29 NBA teams be interested in acquiring Giannis? The Knicks haven’t had a top-10 player since Carmelo Anthony was on their roster. Signing Giannis would instantly lift New York into the conversation of contenders, no matter who is left on the Knicks roster.
It looks like Knicks president Leon Rose is preparing to land at least one big free agent in 2025. Only R.J. Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart, and former Milwaukee Buck Donte DiVincenzo are currently under contract for the 2025-26 season. All-Star Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson have Player Options.
The Knicks made the playoffs for the second time in three seasons under head coach Tom Thibodeau. They made it out of the first round for the first time since 2013. Brunson was a huge free agent signing last season and had an immediate impact in New York.
Rose has built a competitive team and is working to transform the Knicks into a contender. Bill Simmons went on record on his podcast, The Bill Simmons Podcast, guaranteeing that Giannis, Joel Embiid, or Donovan Mitchell will soon join the Knicks.
Knicks fans probably can’t help but think to themselves, “So you’re saying there’s a chance?”
Dallas Mavericks
During his appearance on the “48 minutes” podcast, Antetokounmpo referred to Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd as a “genius.”
Giannis played for Kidd when the Hall-of-Fame point guard coached the Milwaukee Bucks from 2014-2018. The Bucks may not have advanced past the first round under Kidd, but the current Dallas coach was instrumental in the two-time MVP’s development.
Antetokounmpo was in his second season in the NBA when the Bucks acquired Jason Kidd from the Brooklyn Nets. Giannis’ growth under Kidd’s tutelage doesn’t get talked about enough. He improved in every facet of the game over those four seasons – including increasing his scoring average from 12.7 points per game in 2015 to 26.9 points per game in 2018.
While Antetokounmpo holds Kidd in high regard, the Mavericks also have Luke Doncic on their roster. The “Greek Freak” is a fan of Doncic, a fellow European star. Can you imagine a duo of Luke and Giannis? Kyrie Irving also has a player option for the 2025-26 season. The Mavericks could possess a big three of Luka, Kyrie, and Giannis.
That would be scary for Dallas’ opponents. What’s scarier in the short term is the possibility of their own franchise player requesting a trade.
The pressure is on Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and GM Nico Harrison to field a contender around Doncic. Acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo would be a huge step in making the Dallas Mavericks a contender.
Golden State Warriors
Giannis joining the Golden State Warriors is probably a long shot. Many people didn’t think the Warriors could land Kevin Durant back in 2016 either. Then it happened.
Antetokounmpo himself was asked to join the Warriors during a live TikTok back in May. He smirked and eventually said, “Nah, I’m not that kind of guy.” Giannis was referring to him not wanting to take the east path to a championship by joining a super team, which he’s been on record saying before.
The “Greek Freak” doesn’t sound like he wants to join the Warriors. At least not today.
I’m sure that won’t stop Warriors owner Joe Lacob and new GM Mike Dunleavy, Jr. from pursuing the 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Golden State was rumored to be interested in the “Greek Freak” before he signed an extension with the Bucks in 2020.
The Warriors could always attempt to trade for Antetokounmpo before he hits free agency. Josh Cornelissen of “Blue Man Hoop” recently pitched the following trade:
"The Golden State Warriors would get: Giannis Antetokounmpo The Milwaukee Bucks would get: Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Brandin Podziemski, 3 First-Round Picks, 3 pick swaps"
That would be quite the haul for Giannis. It’s extremely risky for the Warriors. Imagine if Golden State gave up all that young talent AND Giannis chose not to re-sign with the Warriors in the summer of 2025.
Chicago Bulls
The idea of Giannis Antetokounmpo joining the Chicago Bulls may seem surprising. He was asked by Fox 32 Chicago last summer about the chances of him playing for the Bulls someday. Here’s part of what he said:
"“I think anybody you ask that question that plays basketball, if he said no, he’d be a liar. It’s a team that won multiple championships. It’s a team with one of the greatest players—if not the greatest player to ever play this game—played for. It’s a no-brainer. Everybody would love to play for Chicago. Down the line, you never know. You never know how life brings it. Maybe I’ll play for Chicago, but right now I’m committed to Milwaukee.”"
Antetokounmpo has other interests in Chicago. Earlier this year the Bucks star partnered with Chicago-based Calamos Investments to launch a new investment venture, the Calamos Antetokounmpo Sustainable Equity Fund. One of Giannis’ agents, Alex Saratsis, is based in Chicago. There is also a large Greek community in Chicago who I’m sure would love to have him in the Windy City.
That last part isn’t necessarily a reason for Giannis to sign with the Bulls. It certainly doesn’t hurt.
There’s also the basketball part. The Bulls were first in the Eastern Conference in the 2021-22 season before Lonzo Ball’s knee injury. They have kept the same core in place since. Chicago is on track to have cap space to sign a top-tier star like Giannis. Or they could build a trade package centered around Nikola Vucevic, Coby White, and picks.
A Bulls team that could include Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, and Coby White alongside Giannis doesn’t sound bad to me. It also wouldn’t be a far move for him down Interstate 94. Just saying.
Milwaukee Bucks
If nothing else, Giannis Antetokounmpo has shown that he is a humble and loyal person. The Milwaukee Bucks drafted him back in 2013. They are the only NBA team he has played for in his ten-year career. The city of Milwaukee practically took him in and watched him grow.
The Bucks went from being a perennial doormat to a perennial contender. One could say the state-of-the-art Fiserv Form is “the house that Giannis built.” The 28-year-old Nigerian by way of Athens, Greece helped deliver an NBA Championship in 2021 – the city’s first in 50 years.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be appreciated forever in Milwaukee whether he stays or goes in 2025. His number 34 will hang from the rafters of the Fiserv Forum one day. Giannis’ name is all over the Bucks’ all-time statistical leaders and he’s arguably the greatest player in Bucks franchise history.
All of that isn’t lost on Antetokounmpo. He isn’t satisfied with winning just one NBA Championship though. I don’t know this for sure, but I’m confident that his preference is to win NBA titles in Milwaukee while continuing to wear a Bucks uniform.
As other star players have done in the past, Giannis put on the Bucks to build a contending team around him before he commits to a long-term contract extension. They held up to their part of the bargain in 2020 and Antetokounmpo re-signed.
He’s taking a page from his own playbook in 2023. The Bucks re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez becoming a repeat NBA luxury tax offender as a result. Adrian Griffin replaces Mike Budenholzer as head coach. It remains to be seen how the team responds to a new voice.
The Bucks will also have cap flexibility in 2025. The 2025 free agent class currently includes Brandon Ingram, Jamal Murray, Myles Turner, and Lauri Markkanen. Giannis may not want to join other stars, but perhaps those other stars join Giannis. It’s happened before. It could happen again.
Milwaukee doesn’t want to lose the “Greek Freak.” I don’t believe Giannis WANTS to leave the Bucks either. At the same time, I do believe he COULD leave if the Bucks don’t sustain a contending roster around him.
One thing is for sure. There will be plenty of teams vying for Antetokounmpo’s services in 2025.