Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Heat
Giannis Antetokounmpo's tenure at the Bucks has ended after 13 years at the forefront of the Bucks organisation. In Giannis' time as a Buck, he was named an All-Star 10 times while making an All-NBA team in nine different seasons. The two-time MVP and 2019-20 DPOY will move on to the second team of his career in his age-32 season. After much long-awaited anticipation, Giannis will start the 2026-27 season in a Miami Heat uniform. The Heat will receive Giannis in return for multiple players and picks (full details below).
Giannis' stint with Milwaukee was predominantly highlighted by the 2021 championship run where they beat the Phoenix Suns in six games. He led the way for this Bucks team, averaging 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, five assists and three stocks (steals + blocks) a game across the six games, earning himself Finals MVP in the process.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s game winning alley-oop in game 5 of the 2021 NBA finals.
During Giannis' Bucks career, he ended up only making the second round of the playoffs four times. Giannis' growing frustration has been due to the Bucks' front office not being able to build a winning team around him. Giannis was always the sole star of this team, with attempts to bring in a co-star in 2023 with Damian Lillard. In doing so they gave up a vital part of that championship team in Jrue Holiday. Lillard played 131 games for the Bucks across two seasons, in each of which they were eliminated in the first round by the Indiana Pacers, with Lillard picking up an Achilles injury in game three of the 2025 first round. After cutting Lillard following this series, the Bucks owe $113 million to Lillard, which they stretched through to the 2029-30 season.
Full Damian Lillard Trade 2023:
Bucks Received: Damian Lillard
Blazers Received: Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton, Toumani Camara, 2029 first-round pick, 2028 and 2030 swap rights with the Bucks
Suns Received: Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Nassir Little, Keon Johnson
After never really being able to find Giannis the co-star he wanted and needed, Giannis "informally" requested a trade before the 2025-26 season according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. After much speculation over the past year, Giannis has finally been traded.
Giannis to the Heat
Heat Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis
Bucks Receive: Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jamie Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, 13th overall pick in this year's draft, two more first-round picks, one pick swap and a second-round pick
The Heat will try to push forward in a wide-open Eastern Conference as they add Giannis to bolster their frontcourt. Miami's predicted starting lineup will likely be Davion Mitchell, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo — a team that will be electric defensively and will also continue to work in transition. Miami struggled at times last season when they tried to become too structured. Giannis will be the perfect superstar to fit that mould of playing high-pace transition basketball with less reliance on set frameworks and more emphasis on fast-paced, free-flowing basketball.
The Heat will set out in free agency to build up their guard depth and rotation, while aiming to add shooters around Giannis and Bam. They also still hold the 41st overall pick in this year's draft and will aim to add a contributing piece on a rookie scale contract. Miami should also be looking at getting more out of Nikola Jovic after signing him to a four-year, $62.4 million contract that will begin this year. He should be expected to take on significant forward minutes when Giannis goes to the bench. Although it seems like Miami has gutted most of their depth, this should give players like Pelle Larsson, Dru Smith and Simone Fontecchio a chance to see increased minutes and contribution.
The Bucks in this deal certainly got a big return. While losing Giannis seemed inevitable, Bucks fans should be happy with the way they have gone about this rebuild. Because the Bucks don't own some of their first-round picks, this gives them a chance to establish a new identity and evaluate some of the young talent they have acquired in this trade. While I don't see Tyler Herro being a long-term piece on this team, his contributions at the start of next season will be extremely important to the growth of this young team.
A projected starting lineup for Bucks fans to look forward to could be: Ryan Rollins, Tyler Herro, Jamie Jaquez Jr., Kyle Kuzma and one of Kel'el Ware or Miles Turner. Kel'el Ware will bring a huge rebounding presence that Miles Turner can't, and with the two being able to stretch the floor, we could see some pretty fun, interesting and interchangeable lineups. With developing players like Jakucionis, Ware, Ousmane Dieng, Jaquez and the 10th and 13th overall picks this year, we could see a couple of these players step into more important roles and have breakout seasons.
Whilst it is unfortunate for the Bucks that they have lost their two-time MVP, they have done well to recoup valuable assets and players that will aid long-term sustained success.
Overall, these next couple of days and weeks will be interesting to see how these teams pan out, using draft capital and free agency to complete their rosters. The two teams will be in very different mindsets for the upcoming season, but because the Bucks don't own their first-round pick, this will give them no incentive to tank, leading to some exciting basketball in Milwaukee. The NBA off-season has only just started and we are off to a big start. This off-season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent memory.
- JB