It is officially official.
After months of speculation about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with Milwaukee, with smoke screens set by Miami, Golden State, and even the Lakers, the reigning MVP has put pen to paper, and killed all those rumours dead in their tracks – taking to Twitter to confirm that he had signed a supermax extension to stay with the Bucks.
In the tweet, he said:
“This is my home, this is my city.”
“I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next five years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it.”
The extension is a record breaking five year, $228.2 million deal (and this sits on top of the near 30 million he is already owed for this season). It means Milwaukee have their franchise star on the books until the summer of 2025, when Antetokounmpo could opt out of his contract.
It has been a bumper past two seasons for the star big man. He has won two straight MVP awards, and he also won DPOY last year. The one question mark that remains for Antetokounmpo and the franchise surrounds their underwhelming playoff performances in previous seasons.
The off-season acquisition of Jrue Holiday and a handful of bench scorers will no doubt help come this year’s edition of the post-season, but this is the biggest gamble the Bucks had to take, in order to push their chips into the middle of the table and to position themselves to try and win a ring or two in the next five years – with the question of their star’s future now firmly answered and off the table.