Basketball icon Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA championship in 2021, made surprising comments about his future this week. When asked about the idea of someday playing for the Bulls, he said he would be open to playing for the Chicago Bulls later in his NBA career. This statement created shockwaves because Giannis’s name has basically become one and the same with the Bucks, and die-hard Milwaukee Bucks fans were appalled by the disappointing news.
In 2013, Giannis was the 15th pick in the NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks out of Greece. His career stats and records so far have been nothing short of amazing. Giannis finished the 2019–2020 season with the highest single-season player efficiency rating in NBA history, equal to 31.9. In the 2021-2022 NBA 75th Anniversary Team, Giannis was listed as one of the top 75 players in NBA history.
Today, Giannis still has four years remaining on his contract with the Bucks on the five-year $228 million extension he signed before winning the Finals MVP and leading the team to the 2021 NBA championship. With all that amassed success, Giannis has not ruled out the possibility of jumping on board with another team before his career is over.
According to ESPN, the basketball star was asked about his thoughts regarding playing for the Chicago Bulls. Giannis said that he is open to the idea of one day joining up and playing for the rival team. Giannis admitted, “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 that’s one of the greatest players, if not the greatest player to ever play this game, played for. So it’s a no-brainer; everybody would love to play for Chicago.”
The Bulls have been widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Giannis agrees with these sentiments as he claimed they’re one of the most successful teams ever. If we take a look back at the record books, we’ll see that they won the 1991-1993 and 1996-1998 NBA Championships, giving them a total of 6 historic wins. This was probably the reason why the 1995-1996 Bulls were listed as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History.
More recently, the Chicago Bulls made the playoffs in 2022, but they lost in the Eastern Conference First Round. They’re well down the current Ladbrokes odds for the 2022-2023 Championship, so are unlikely to add to their titles. That’s in sharp contrast to Giannis’s current team, the Bucks, who are ranked fourth-favorites. The team has a remarkable record of 213-96 over the past four seasons, they have four division titles and an NBA Championship in 2020-21, which are outstanding stats enough to make any opposing team quiver.
The 2022-23 regular season doesn’t start for a few months, but as just mentioned, there is already plenty of conversation going on about which team will be taking the next championship. Although it’s impossible to accurately predict the future, that doesn’t stop anyone from having favorites. The five favorites to win the 2023 NBA Championship are the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers.
Giannis is still with the Bucks, and with his stats and being listed as one of the top 75 players in NBA history, the Milwaukee Bucks have a big chance to make history once again and take the 2023 NBA Championship. Despite his comments regarding possibly wearing the jersey of a rival team, Bucks fans just hope he was being respectful and has no plans to leave Milwaukee any time soon.
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