National Basketball Association

Giannis Agrees to Supermax With Bucks

Updated Dec. 15, 2020 4:58 p.m. ET

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For Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, the will-he-or-won't-he-sign saga has come to an end.

The two-time league MVP announced that he will sign a supermax extension worth $228.2 million over five years to remain in Milwaukee, according to multiple reports.

The deal – which will guarantee Antetokounmpo $256 million over the next six seasons with the Bucks – also includes an opt-out clause in 2025, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The 26-year-old "Greek Freak" averaged career highs in both points (29.5) and rebounds (13.6) last season, along with 5.6 assists, leading the Bucks to the No. 1 overall seed in the Eastern Conference and a league-best 56-17 record.

However, following an unceremonious exit from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference semifinals, questions about Giannis' future began to flow en masse. With his four-year contract with the Bucks set to expire at the end of the 2020-21 season, could he be lured elsewhere?

Now, those questions have been put to bed.

The Bucks spent the offseason overhauling their roster, presumably to message to Giannis that they can and would build around the Greek superstar.

Prior to getting Giannis to sign an extension, the biggest splash for the Bucks was the acquisition of Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans.

With Giannis sticking around, the Bucks are expected to be a force in the Eastern Conference for the next half-decade, at least.

FOX Sports NBA analyst Chris Broussard said Monday that the decision to sign long-term in Milwaukee was a courageous one by the Bucks megastar – but wasn't necessarily the correct one for his legacy.

"Giannis has shown a lot of guts in staying in Milwaukee, bucking the trend of creating super duos – if not super teams like LeBron, KD, Kawhi and AD have done recently, with James Harden now seeking to do as they have.

"But valor aside, this is about winning championships. And I don’t think Milwaukee has enough to win a title. Yes, Giannis must improve his own game to be championship ready, but the Bucks organization now owes him big-time. It needs to pull out all the stops to get Giannis whatever he needs to win – not just a title, but titles!”

Celtics legend Paul Pierce believes that Giannis re-signing with the Bucks, instead of jumping ship, is the sign of an old-school, throwback player.

He explained why on ESPN's The Jump.

"When you look at LeBron, and KD, how they went about getting their championships, he wants his legacy to be built on his back, not going somewhere else. He's saying I want to bring the players to Milwaukee, I don't want to have to go anywhere else, and that's the sign of an old-school player mentality."

Back in 2018, Giannis made an appearance on The Herd, and at that moment, made it clear he would never leave Milwaukee for the biggest market.

He is proving to be a man of his word, at least for now.

Here's how the internet reacted to the news of Antetokounmpo's extension:

This is a developing story.

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National Basketball Association

Giannis Antetokounmpo

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