{"id":784528,"date":"2026-07-06T19:57:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T19:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/784528\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T19:57:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T19:57:18","slug":"giannis-antetokounmpo-bids-farewell-to-bucks-calls-milwaukee-my-city-my-team-my-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/784528\/","title":{"rendered":"Giannis Antetokounmpo bids farewell to Bucks, calls Milwaukee ‘my city, my team, my family’"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Relive some of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s best regular-season buckets throughout his career!<\/p>\n

MIAMI \u2014 Giannis Antetokounmpo plans to say hello to Miami in a few days. First, he had to bid farewell to Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo\u2019s time with the Bucks officially ended Monday, when the trade sending him and Bobby Portis to the Heat for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel\u2019el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis and draft capital was approved by the NBA.<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo plans to arrive in Miami in a few days to start his Heat era \u2013 and said in a video message posted Monday on social media that he will forever think of Milwaukee, the place where he spent 13 seasons, as his city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to hear from my mouth, the city of Milwaukee will always be in my heart,\u201d Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 10-time All-Star, said in the video. \u201cThis is my home, and this is a place that I had my kids. \u2026 It made me the man that I am today. That will never ever change. No matter where I am, Milwaukee will always be my city, my team, my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/x3dRX1StPE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) July 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

His run in Milwaukee ended with 21,531 points \u2013 by far the most in franchise history, more than 7,000 ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar\u2019s total during his tenure with the Bucks. Antetokounmpo is also Milwaukee\u2019s all-time leader in rebounds and assists, plus he ranks second on the team\u2019s career list in steals.<\/p>\n

And now, he plays in Miami \u2013 a team desperate to get back into title contention, one that paid a ransom to make it happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe announcement of today\u2019s trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis Jr. is one of the great trades in Heat history,\u201d Miami President Pat Riley said. \u201cIn my opinion, Giannis is one of the top five players in the league and Bobby is one of the best power forwards. The difficult part is trading Tyler, Kasparas, Jaime and Kel\u2019el, who have given so much to this organization. We wish them nothing but the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bucks general manager Jon Horst released a statement<\/a> saying the trade was in the best interest of everyone involved.<\/p>\n

A letter from GM Jon Horst. pic.twitter.com\/M9XzqwEguA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

You came to Milwaukee 13 years ago as a kid from Sepolia with an impossible dream. Over the past 13 years we have witnessed you grow into one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, the greatest Buck of all time, and the driving force behind an era of Bucks basketball\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/6oDA0APFwh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

He also lauded Antetokounmpo, as would be expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we drafted him in 2013, Giannis has transformed the Milwaukee Bucks in every way \u2013 on the court, in our locker room and throughout the community,\u201d Horst said. \u201cOver 13 seasons, he became an extraordinary leader, teammate and representative of this city, and one of the defining players of his generation. The standard he set will continue here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The highlight of Antetokounmpo\u2019s 13 seasons in Milwaukee, of course, was the 2021 NBA title. He had 50 points in the Bucks\u2019 title-clinching Game 6 victory over Phoenix, earning NBA Finals MVP honors in a landslide.<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo said then, and reiterated Monday, that Bucks fans deserved that moment.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the city of Milwaukee is blue collar,\u201d he said in the video. \u201cIt\u2019s people that work extremely hard every single day. They give all their hard-earned money just to come watch the Milwaukee Bucks, to come and feel something, to come, to be a part of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that I was able to represent them the best that I could. And I was like them. I showed up to work, did everything. I was willing to do all the dirty work, just like them. I hope that bringing a trophy to this city meant something to them, because it meant so much to me.\u201d<\/p>\n