Giannis Antetokounmpo Expresses Interest In Chicago Bulls
Going 51-31 this past season and coming up short of defending their title in the playoffs, losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks will once again have their sights set on claiming a championship once the 2022-23 season begins.
Getting All-Star Khris Middleton back at 100% from a knee injury suffered in the postseason and also adding depth with the additions of Joe Ingles and rookie MarJon Beauchamp, the Bucks will undoubtedly be a favorite to win the Eastern Conference, but this is mainly because they have Giannis Antetokounmpo on their roster.
Being just 27-years-old and heading into his tenth NBA season, Antetokounmpo is a six-time All-Star, a six-time All-NBA performer, a five-time All-Defensive performer, the 2016-17 NBA Most Improved Player, the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year, the 2020-21 All-Star Game MVP, a champion with Milwaukee in 2021, the 2021 Finals MVP and the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. Not to mention, he was also named this past year to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
If he were to retire today, Giannis Antetokounmpo would be a unanimous selection to the Hall-of-Fame and we may not have even seen the peak of his career yet!
The best overall player in the NBA right now, Giannis always tends to have the spotlight on him and in a recent interview with Fox 32 Chicago the star big man had some very interesting things to say about the Chicago Bulls, the team the Milwaukee Bucks recently eliminated from the postseason in 2022.
When asked about the Chicago Bulls organization and possibly playing for them one day, Antetokounmpo had this to say:
“I think anybody who is asked that question that plays basketball, if he said no, he would be a liar. It's a team that won multiple championships. It's the team that 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. Maybe I play for Chicago, but right now I am committed to Milwaukee."
While this is certainly eye-popping to see right now, the Milwaukee Bucks and their fans really have nothing to worry about in regards to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
He is extremely happy in Milwaukee right now and Giannis not only led them to their first title in 50 years in 2021, but the earliest he could possibly test free agency is in 2025, as he has a $51.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season in his current five-year, $228.2 million contract.
Many basketball players dream about playing for the Bulls, like Antetokounmpo mentioned, just like many others would like to play for the Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics. All of these franchises are some of the league’s most historic teams when it comes to championships and NBA lore, hence why Giannis said what he did.
Michael Jordan had an impact on the generation of players that followed him, he had an impact on this current generation of players and he will continue to have an impact on the generations after this one simply because the NBA would not be what it is today without him.
Whether you call him the greatest of all-time or one of the greatest of all-time, Jordan built the Chicago Bulls into one of the most legendary franchises in all of professional sports and he was the face of arguably the greatest dynasty in all of sports.
The most important thing Giannis Antetokounmpo said in this clip from the interview that many other players may not have said is that he is “committed to Milwaukee.” Antetokounmpo could have left the Bucks instead of signing an extension with them in December of 2020, yet he made it very clear that he wanted to remain in Milwaukee and make them the best franchise in the NBA.
Nobody ever knows what the future holds and Giannis Antetokounmpo could very much end up on the Chicago Bulls later in his career, but right now, the two-time league MVP and 2021 Finals MVP is focused on one thing and one thing only – bringing yet another championship to the city of Milwaukee during the 2022-23 season.