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The Miami Heat landed Giannis Antetokounmpo — a two-time NBA MVP and 10-time All-Star — from the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster NBA deal in exchange for a slew of players and draft picks.
According to The Associated Press, the terms — with the move still not getting the necessary league approval — would see Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis head to Miami for Wisconsin natives Tyler Hero, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Zakusionis.
Milwaukee will also receive the No. 13 selection that will be made in Tuesday night’s NBA draft, a swap of a first-round pick in 2030, first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and a second-rounder in 2033.
It ended in a wild back-and-forth in the final days of the story, with the Bucks considering offers from both Miami and Boston for Antetokounmpo, who led Milwaukee to the 2021 NBA title, was on the NBA’s 75th anniversary list of all-time greats, a nine-time pick and a nine-time near-miss this coming season. He averaged 27.6 points per game.
The Heat pulled off similar moves by landing Shaquille O’Neal in 2004 (helping lead them to the 2006 NBA title) and LeBron James and Chris Bosh playing alongside Dwyane Wade in 2010 (leading four NBA Finals runs combined in four seasons, including the 2012 and 2013 NBA titles).
Now, it’s Antetokounmpo’s turn. At 31 years old, the Heat clearly believe he still has a lot of good years left in him – and it’s generally assumed that by doing this deal they’ll be giving the Greek superstar a huge extension later this year.
He was a perennial MVP candidate in Milwaukee, receiving votes for that award in nine consecutive seasons before 2025-26 when too many missed games disqualified him.
Antetokounmpo has secured an injury-interrupted 2026
He averaged 24.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game in his career, averaging at least 22.9 points in 10 straight seasons – three years there with more than 30 points per game.
Only seven active players have more career points than Antetokounmpo, who has totaled 21,531 to date.
While Antetokounmpo has been mentioned numerous times in trade talks in recent years, the Bucks have always insisted — by word and deed — that they are not interested in trading their best player and one of the greatest players in franchise history. But this time it felt different.
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Highlights of the NBA Finals Game 5 match between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs
The Bucks, who fired Doc Rivers as coach after the season, don’t have a roster that would be considered a championship contender. By trading Antetokounmpo, they could essentially start with four players with draft capital.
“I just think before the draft is a natural time, right, because we’re going to have a lot of assets if Giannis plays somewhere else. You’ve got to fix it,” Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said in May, when the team introduced new coach Taylor Jenkins — who was told Antetokounmpo might or might not start next season.
Jenkins and the rest of the NBA now have an answer: Antetokounmpo won’t be there.
Antetokounmpo spoke highly of Miami many times over the years, even when the Heat and Bucks were facing off in the playoffs. He also shares an agent with Heat star center Bam Adebayo, who was the only player Miami apparently wasn’t willing to part with to make the deal happen.
