Giannis Antetokounmpo is officially a member of the Miami Heat. Before he starts fitting into that new locker room, he had one more thing to say to Milwaukee.
Giannis dropped a two minute farewell video to the city of Milwaukee on Monday after the trade became official. The clip was personal, narrated in his own voice, and it made clear how much the last 13 years meant to him. He thanked the fans, told them he hopes he made them proud, and made a point of saying Milwaukee will always be his home.
“I want you to hear from my mouth. The city of Milwaukee will always be in my heart,” Giannis said in the video. “This is my home. This is a place where I had my kids. My mom is here, my father is here, my brothers played here. It made me the man I am today. That will never, ever change.”
That is a long way from the tense final months in Milwaukee, where the vibes had clearly turned. Reports leaked about frustrations with teammates and the direction of the roster. Trade rumors reached a boiling point. Nobody was really surprised when the deal happened, but it still feels strange to see him in another jersey.
Let us not lose sight of what he did there. Two MVP awards. A Defensive Player of the Year trophy. A Finals MVP. And the 2021 championship that Milwaukee had been waiting on for 50 years. He is arguably the best Buck in franchise history, and it is not particularly close.
Giannis stayed in Milwaukee when a lot of stars would have pushed for a trade to a bigger market. He signed extensions. He recruited. He tried to make it work. When the roster finally could not keep up, the split happened, but the credit he built up along the way is not going away.
Now the challenge is winning another title in Miami. Erik Spoelstra will get to coach him. Bam Adebayo becomes his frontcourt partner, which is a scary defensive combination. Andrew Wiggins is around for wing depth. Tyler Herro is out the door as part of the return package, so the Heat are reshaped around Giannis and Bam.
The path in the Eastern Conference is not a cakewalk. New York is stacked. Cleveland could get LeBron James back. Philadelphia just added Jaylen Brown. Detroit has emerged as a legitimate threat. Miami is going to have to fight for every inch, and Giannis will be the reason they can hang in that group.
Winning another championship in Miami would put Giannis in the same conversation as the all time greats. Two rings, in two different cities, both as the best player on the roster, is a rare accomplishment. That is his goal now.
But even if he wins a second one, he made it very clear on Monday which title will always mean the most. The first ring was for Milwaukee. That will not change no matter what jersey he ends his career in.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
