Opinion: With everything Giannis Antetokounmpo already has given us, we can give him some time
May 21, 2019, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto.
The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 4 to the Toronto Raptors. The postgame locker room was a scene I will never forget.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, just 24 years old but already six years into the NBA, sat at his locker, head in hand, drained and dejected. Ice bags bigger than loaves of bread were strapped to each knee, his ankles were soaking in a big mop bucket of ice, and his heart and soul were still in shards out on the court, where he left everything else.
A pair of scissors – #34 written on them – hung on a hook, ready for him to cut off the tape and bandages. His wristband said Never Give Up.
He hunched his 6-foot-11 frame to mortal human size and stared at the floor. He looked like our Greek Milwaukee version of the French bronze statue, "The Thinker."
The Bucks – destined for a title just days before – suddenly were more vulnerable than they had been at any point in the season. Their once massive two-game lead had evaporated. This truly felt like a season-tipping moment. It was. Milwaukee would, in fact, be eliminated from the Eastern Conference finals by Toronto in six games a few days later.
That 2019 Milwaukee locker room in Toronto was a weird mix of chaos: Intruding reporters and media producers bustling about with cords and cameras, while the Bucks, acrobatic and anti-gravitational just minutes before, moved gingerly, cautiously and painfully. Eric Bledsoe bolted, too crushed or frustrated to linger. Khris Middleton sat next to Antetokounmpo, almost catatonic, having just chased Kawhi Leonard on defense all night while carrying his own scoring burden.
I studied Antetokounmpo because I never wanted to forget what it looked like when one of the most gifted and dedicated athletes on earth just gave every fiber of his being to his team and its cause and still was not rewarded with victory. That’s not what is supposed to happen. But life is harsh and cruel.
And then he said something I jotted down. After the first wave of TV reporters left, Antetokounmpo didn’t pop off, didn't say the team's best regular-season record was wasted, didn't blame refs or teammates or broken plays or exposed shortcomings. He said, and I will paraphrase: As long as everything possible was done to prepare, as long as the work was put in and the effort was 100% from himself and his teammates, he could – and would – accept the outcome, in good conscience.
They were words of an old soul coming from such a young man, but they weren't mass distributed after deadline in the postgame hot takes and hoops analysis.
But I think about this whole scene now, as we wait for The Big Decision. And you know what?
Giannis Antetokounmpo owes us nothing. Not one more thing.
He should take all the time he needs. And all the time he wants.
Real fans – and his coaches, teammates and bosses – surely understand that Antetokounmpo earned this right, whether he takes one more hour or one more week or one more season to decide on his supermax offer from the Milwaukee Bucks.
Antetokounmpo can sign the big deal now, or later or never. He isn't obligated to anybody for anything.
After seven seasons and 528 games, Antetokounmpo has given Milwaukee 10,602 points. Included among those are 1,128 dunks, many of them of the electrifying, jaw-dropping variety. He's also led the Bucks to three playoff series wins, helping to create an expectation of series wins here, where that just didn't happen for nearly two decades.
He’s played with bloody lips and on battered joints.
He’s made impossible shots with three defenders hanging on him and still never sacrificed his defense for the glamorous side of the game. In fact, he went out and got the defensive player of the year award.
He’s worked on everything from his fitness and physique to his free throws and jump shots.
He wept openly when he cradled his first MVP trophy and worked through the distractions of a new life status (and a big new Nike deal) to defend the MVP title by claiming a second.
He walked off the court in Orlando in a boycott to support his brother – teammate George Hill – who could not ignore his heart in the Jacob Blake shooting in Kenosha.
He's gone from that 18-year-old who found a mistake in coach Larry Drew’s playbook to a leader and motivator who veteran Kyle Korver credited for keeping the team chemistry solid, because when the top guy doesn’t act too big for his britches (at least not too often), who else would dare?
Antetokounmpo honors the legacy of his father, now gone three years, by continuing to outwork himself and provide for his family, whether it's his younger brothers or his mom, or his partner and baby boy, the entourage that never leaves his side.
All the while, he's ingratiated himself to us by marching in our city when we were heartbroken during civic unrest. And wearing “Equality” on the back of his jersey in Orlando. And crediting his female strength and conditioning coach for her help.
He’s spent time with NBA fans battling illness and brought young kids to tears by giving away his shoes. He's graciously answered questions in Greek when his home country reporters travel all this way just to check in.
He tells the worst jokes. He shares private photos of his pregnant partner pacing the floors of the hospital, giving her grief. He wears the same Nike-issue track suits and jumpers over and over when almost everyone else in the NBA could be on a red carpet runway.
He’s given Bucks ownership a reason to build that new palace downtown and a reason for free agents to want to work in that new enviable practice facility with personal chefs and modern workroom machines.
He's the reason three MVPs – Aaron Rodgers, Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun – came to a Bucks game, not to check out LeBron or James or AD, but to marvel at, and support, one of Wisconsin's adopted own: Giannis.
He doesn't quit on plays, doesn't bristle at coaching, doesn't bail on teammates. What more could we possibly ask for?
There is no overwhelming financial benefit for him to sign the deal now. Right?
I text our former Bucks beat writer, Matt Velazquez (who compiled those stats above). He confirms that he wrote and podcasted at least 10 times that Antetokounmpo can wait on the supermax and see how things play out this season; that he’s under no financial pressure with benefits to sign any contract now; that other NBA players have waited and been rewarded (even after injury!) with the supermax.
The one risk in waiting is that Antetokounmpo would face a ton of scrutiny over the next year if he doesn’t sign now, which would be mentally wearing. But as a business decision, it’s Antetokounmpo’s to make on his time, in his terms.
Give him time.
He hasn't talked publicly yet since the season began. So a deal could be announced any second now.
But if he needs to get to the bottom of what happened with the Bogdan Bogdanovic fiasco; if he needs to see what the new roster looks like together; if he needs to judge the front office's plans; if he needs to scrutinize other potential teams; if he needs to get through another season marred by this coronavirus pandemic; if he needs to make a big splash announcement when life returns to normal and fans are there to celebrate with him – he should be allowed to do that.
Remember what he said: Do everything you can to prepare, put in the work and effort, and you can live with whatever the outcome. If that's what he decides now or the next week or hour or month, that is not greed or drama or dragging feet. That's entirely within his character all along.
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