All eyes will be glued to the NBA rumor mill next season as speculation surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s free agency decision in 2021 has already started.
After the Milwaukee Bucks’ disappointing season came to an end Tuesday night in Game 5 (103-94) of their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup against the Heat, Antetokounmpo spoke to Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes and told him he has no plans of leaving Milwaukee anytime soon.
“It’s not happening, that’s not happening,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo! Sports. “Some see a wall and go in (another direction). I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually, and get right back at it next season.”
Antetokounmpo, who was recovering from a right ankle injury he sustained in Game 4, was ruled out of Game 5 Tuesday. Without The Greek Freak, Milwaukee managed to keep its season alive in Game 4 when they pushed the Heat to overtime and prevailed, 118-115.
For three quarters, Tuesday, the Bucks were inspired to keep the series alive without their best player and put together their best defensive effort of the best-of-7 series. Unfortunately, the Bucks came up short in the end.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Believes In His Bucks
Still, Antetokounmpo remains positive, telling Haynes he didn’t expect the road to his first NBA Finals to be this easy.
“If winning a championship was easy, everyone would have one,” Antetokounmpo said. “We lost. Everyone saw that we lost. It’s disappointing but what are we going to do? We’re going to keep working. I’ve got confidence in my teammates.”
Without enough offense, the Heat eventually pushed through Milwaukee’s stifling defense and caught fire from the perimeter and in transition, eventually sending the Bucks home from Florida. Giannis, who was on his feet cheering and very vocal towards his teammates throughout the night, didn’t say if it’s his team recent play in Games 4, 5 that factored into his decision to say this early that he’s not thinking about leaving Milwaukee or if he’s seen hope within his supporting cast all along.
“Everyone has a role to play,” Antetokounmpo explained to Haynes. “You see my brother, Thanasis, he’s always up cheering and doing whatever he can when he’s not playing. I’m no different. This is a team and I’m going to do whatever I can to help our team win games.”
Giannis Antetokoumpo Wants To Create His Own Path
The Bucks (56-17) finished with the league’s best regular-season record. Antetokounmpo reigned king as the conference’s most dominant player and the reigning league MVP didn’t disappoint.
Averaging 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists, Giannis could be adding another MVP award to his trophy chest within the next week or so. Already named as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, Antetokounmpo is as unique as any player the game has ever seen and it sounds like he’s trying his best to separate himself from his top-tier counterparts that sit atop of the league’s most talented players, yet again.
Unlike LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, and Paul George, Antetokounmpo is trying to bring the team that drafted him to the promised land instead of joining forces with familiar foes.
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