The Milwaukee Bucks re-signing a player who didn’t play in the NBA last season and averaged 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds during his previous five-year stint with the team might not seem like significant news.
However, the player in question is Thanasis Antetokounmpo. And adding him back to the roster appears to indicate that Giannis Antetokounmpo intends to stay with the Bucks, rather than push for a trade.
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Thanasis Antetokounmpo will sign a one-year, $2.9 million contract to return to Milwaukee, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. The veteran confirmed the news on social media.
Antetokounmpo, 32, did not play last season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. He sustained the injury during a workout in May 2024, according to The Athletic. That also prevented him from playing for Greece in last summer’s Paris Olympics.
Prior to his injury, Antetokounmpo played five seasons with the Bucks from 2019-24. His best performance was during the 2021-22 campaign, during which he averaged 3.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 48 games. Before signing with Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo played five seasons internationally for Andorra in Spain’s Liga ACB and Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Bucks has been uncertain since the end of last season when Milwaukee was eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Indiana Pacers. The Bucks went down in five games due in part to Damian Lillard suffering a torn Achilles tendon during Game 4 of the series.
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Following the season, Milwaukee waived Lillard and stretched the remaining two years and $113 million of his contract across a five-year span to reduce its salary cap hit. That allowed the Bucks to sign center Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million deal, indicating to Antetokounmpo that the team intended to build around him and stay in playoff contention.
The Bucks re-signed Bobby Portis, but lost Brook Lopez in free agency and traded Pat Connaughton, raising questions as to how much of a contender could be built around Antetokounmpo. Many felt that the two-time NBA MVP might have the same concerns and push for a trade with one more year (at $58.5 million) remaining on his contract in addition to a $63 million player option for 2026-27.
Milwaukee management reportedly met with Antetokounmpo to discuss the future direction of the team, which was viewed as the team’s last chance to convince their star to stay. The results of that meeting haven’t been reported, but signing his brother appears to indicate that Antetokounmpo intends to stay for at least one more season before deciding whether or not to vest his player option.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo has played all 12 of his NBA seasons with the Bucks, winning an NBA championship in 2021 and two MVP awards, in addition to Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The Antetokounmpo brothers are currently playing for Greece in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament, leading the national team to a 3-0 record in group play. Giannis is averaging 29 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Thanasis is averaging 3.3 points. Kostas Antetokounmpo is also on the team, averaging 0.7 points per game.