Insider predicts Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with Bucks

The great debate over Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future is unlikely to cool off anytime soon, and will almost certainly rage on into the latter stages of the upcoming NBA season. 

While comments from the Milwaukee Bucks star have fueled plenty of speculation about the potential of a change of scenery, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst can be marked down as a believer that the ‘Greek Freak’ will play elsewhere.

After Windhorst previously called it “50/50” that Antetokounmpo signs an extension with the Bucks while on the “Behind the Play” podcast, he essentially doubled down on that idea shortly after. During a segment on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” Windhorst was asked if he would predict Antetokounmpo would sign a contract in Milwaukee or elsewhere.

“If I had to predict, I would say probably elsewhere," Windhorst said. "And the reason is that the league is not designed to support one team contending at the highest level for this long. I would even go so far as to say that the Bucks, who are going to be in that top three, barring some injuries yet again this year, have bucked the trend."

Windhorst also correctly pointed to Kobe Bryant’s incredible run with the Lakers and the fact that at one point he even asked for a trade. But as Windhorst explained, Bryant got a “second wind” with the Lakers after they used players added through the draft to acquire Pau Gasol via trade.

Antetokounmpo is heading into the third year of a five-year, $228.2 million contract extension, which includes a player option for the fifth year. The 28-year-old star has averaged north of 26.9 points per game in each of the past six seasons and is fresh off a 2022-23 campaign in which he averaged 31.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game while shooting 55.3 percent from the field.