Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo may be coming off an all-time performance to win an NBA championship, but he still has work to do to catch the league's best players.

At least in his eyes.

That is what the Milwaukee Bucks star said during an interview with the Greek television channel COSMOTE TV (h/t Harris Stavrou of Sport24): "I like being a hunter. I am not the best player in the world. I am telling you, I am not! KD, LeBron, Kawhi, Luka, Curry, AD might be. I am not. I am still hunting the All-Time Greats. LeBron is still the best player in the world."

There is no arguing that LeBron James has a better resume than Antetokounmpo. In fact, fans can count on one hand the list of players who arguably have a better all-time resume than James.

Yet the King will turn 37 years old this season and just lost in the first round of the playoffs with the Los Angeles Lakers. Antetokounmpo steamrolled his way to his first title, is just 26 years old and proved to be unguardable while leading the Bucks in the biggest moments.

The two-time MVP finished with 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks while shooting 16-of-25 from the field and 17-of-19 from the free-throw line in Milwaukee's closeout win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

If that version of Antetokounmpo shows up throughout the season, it will be difficult to crown anyone else as the best player.

The defending NBA champions and Lisa Byington are making history.

On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks announced Byington will be their television play-by-play announcer. That makes her the first woman to work in that position full-time for a major men's professional sports team:

I am honored, humbled, and beyond excited for this opportunity and to get this started! https://t.co/02CpAHcEQb

— Lisa Byington (@LisaByington) September 15, 2021

She will call games on Bally Sports Wisconsin.

"I understand the groundbreaking nature of this hire, and I appreciate the fact that during this process that aspect was addressed, but never made a primary focus," Byington said in the team's press release. "In fact, I applaud the Bucks for taking the first steps toward making hires like this more of the norm in the NBA. Because it's time."

Making history is nothing new for Byington.

As the press release detailed, she was the first female play-by-play announcer for the NCAA men's basketball tournament when she called games for CBS and Turner Sports in March. She also called men's and women's soccer games for the Tokyo Olympics and worked the Women's World Cup in 2019.

What's more, the Michigan native was the first female play-by-play announcer for a college football game on the Big Ten Network.

"I always say now it's more everyone else's reaction because I'm used to this being my story," Byington said, per Dave Heller of Bally Sports Wisconsin.

Byington played basketball and soccer at Northwestern prior to her career as a broadcaster.

She will have the opportunity to call games for the defending champions, who are once again on the shortlist of realistic contenders for the crown with the 2021-22 season approaching. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday are all back, as are many of the key role players.

Milwaukee starts the new season on Oct. 19 at home against the Brooklyn Nets.

Mike Budenholzer will remain with the Milwaukee Bucks after helping lead the team to a championship, the team announced.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the head coach agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the team though the 2024-25 campaign.

The Bucks finished 46-26 in the regular season and then dazzled on the way to their first championship since the 1970-71 season.

It helped erase question marks about Budenholzer's future with the team after failing to reach the NBA Finals in either of the previous two years despite posting the best record in the NBA. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported in early May the coach would be fired unless he made a deep playoff run.

Budenholzer joined Milwaukee in 2018 after five seasons as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and a lengthy spell as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs.

His time with Atlanta featured many bright moments, including four playoff appearances and the No. 1 seeding in the East in 2014-15. Postseason success still eluded him as the squad went 17-22 in playoff games with the Hawks, including a sweep in his lone trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. 

In Milwaukee, Budenholzer found instant success while guiding Giannis Antetokounmpo to back-to-back MVP awards for a team that went 116-39 in the first two years. The losses in the conference finals and semifinals still left the Bucks wanting more.

A remade roster in the offseason, including the addition of Jrue Holiday, gave the team a new opportunity to contend for the title, and it capitalized.

The 52-year-old will try to repeat with a roster loaded with proven players such as Antetokounmpo, Holiday, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, who are all signed through at least 2022-23.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is buying a minority stake in the Milwaukee Brewers.

The MLB team announced the move officially on Friday afternoon and held a press conference featuring Antetokounmpo wearing a Brewers jersey:

Giannis Antetokounmpo has joined the Crew!
 
The two-time MVP is officially part of the Milwaukee Brewers ownership team. Thank you, Giannis, for your commitment to our team and Milwaukee!
 @Giannis_An34 | #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/3xRk2yNHrp

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 20, 2021

Jersey’s on, it’s official!@Giannis_An34 | #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/oe0WgwHdXY

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 20, 2021

ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported the news on Friday.

Antetokounmpo is fresh off leading the Bucks to their first NBA championship since 1971, and he capped it by dropping 50 points in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns.

Now the two-time NBA regular-season MVP and 2021 NBA Finals MVP is expanding his horizons by buying a stake in the 74-48 Brewers, who lead the National League Central by 8.5 games and appear to be destined for the MLB playoffs.

Per Joe Pompliano of the Huddle Up newsletter, the Brewers are valued at roughly $1.2 billion. The team has appreciated 225 percent over the past 10 years.

As Kyle Malzhan of WFRV Local 5 noted, Antetokounmpo's purchase further cements his roots in Milwaukee. He notably signed a five-year, $228 million supermax extension with the Bucks last December.

This is my home, this is my city.. I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it. 🤎🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/895tCBE9RK

— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) December 15, 2020

Antetokounmpo isn't the only superstar Wisconsin athlete to own a share in a team, as Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers bought a minority stake in the Bucks in April 2018.

Elsewhere, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes notably bought a minority stake in the Kansas City Royals in July 2020.

The Milwaukee Bucks are coming off their first NBA championship in 50 years, and now they'll be looking to start a dynasty as the 2021-22 campaign begins.

Two-time NBA MVP and 2021 NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who ended the NBA Finals with a 50-point performance against the Phoenix Suns, will lead a talented Bucks crew that returns a pair of Olympic gold medalists in Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. Milwaukee also welcomes back some key rotation pieces, including Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo.

Winning the title won't be easy. The Brooklyn Nets, which nearly picked off the Bucks in the playoffs despite missing Kyrie Irving and James Harden, should be Milwaukee's biggest obstacle for the Eastern Conference crown. NBA MVP candidate Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers should be a formidable threat as well, and the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics could have a say in the Eastern Conference title race.

The Western Conference should be a gauntlet as usual. The Suns return Chris Paul after he signed a four-year extension, and the 2019-20 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers added Russell Westbrook and a bevy of talented veterans. Other teams in the mix include the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks.

This season doesn't appear to be a year where one or two superteams sit above the rest of the field, so it's anyone's race for the 2022 title. The Bucks are in the mix, though, and here's a look at some notable information following their schedule release.

           

2021-22 Bucks Schedule Details

Season Opener: at Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. ET

Championship Odds: +850 (FanDuel)

Entire 2021-22 Schedule: NBA.com

         

Top Matchups

Season Opener (Oct. 19) vs. Nets

All four of the Bucks' matchups against the Nets will be crucial and could determine the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Last year, Milwaukee outlasted the Nets in a classic second-round series that ended with the Bucks winning Game 7 in overtime. Milwaukee played very well but didn't face a fully healthy Nets team with Harden and Irving both missing time during the series.

If all three enjoy better health in the 2021-22 season, the Nets could be the team to beat despite the Bucks returning most of its championship roster. Still, the Bucks have the best player in the league in Antetokounmpo, and he could take over and will Milwaukee into the championship.

Either way, the Bucks-Nets games should be must-see contests.

     

Wednesday, Nov. 17 vs. Lakers

Any matchup featuring one of the greatest basketball players of all time (LeBron James) and a player who could be in that conversation someday (Antetokounmpo) is must-watch television.

However, this should be an intriguing battle of big threes, with Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday flanking Antetokounmpo, and Anthony Davis and Westbrook complementing James.

These two teams could easily find themselves facing each other in the NBA Finals, and their two matchups could be championship previews.

             

Season Forecast

There's little reason to believe the Bucks won't be making a run at the NBA championship yet again barring Antetokounmpo missing significant time due to injury. Milwaukee built a well-rounded, championship squad around him, and Giannis is capable of taking over at any time.

Outlasting the Nets for first in the East won't be easy, but if the Bucks stay healthy, a 60-win season should be on the horizon.

         

Record Prediction: 60-22 (No. 1 in Eastern Conference)

   

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Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother of reigning NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, has reportedly re-signed with the Milwaukee Bucks on a two-year contract.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news Friday. Financial details of the deal weren't immediately released.

The elder Antetokounmpo was a second-round pick of the New York Knicks in the 2014 draft. He spent most of his first U.S. stint in the G League with the Westchester Knicks, making just two appearances for New York during the 2015-16 season.

He returned stateside in 2019 to sign with Milwaukee after time playing in Andorra and the brothers' home country of Greece.

Antetokounmpo has averaged 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 rebounds in 8.8 minutes while playing a depth role across 77 games for the Bucks over the past two seasons. He scored nine points in 13 appearances during last season's playoffs as the team captured the 2021 NBA title.

Earlier this month, Thanasis and Giannis traveled home to Athens with the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

"We are happy to be back and that we could bring the trophy with us," Giannis told reporters. "... We had to go through a long process [to bring the NBA's championship trophy to Greece]."

There are two other basketball-playing Antetokounmpo brothers: Kostas, who won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, and Alex, who plays for Spanish side UCAM Murcia.

The Bucks have retained most of the key players from their title run, led by Giannis, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, and they've added wing depth with Rodney Hood and Grayson Allen in the offseason.

Thanasis figures to remain in a low-volume depth role for Milwaukee over the next two years barring a rash of injuries at the forward spots.

As wildfires continue to devastate Greece, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is offering hotel accommodation to people who have been displaced from their homes. 

Per Harris Stavrou of Sport24, the 2021 NBA Finals MVP is offering accommodations in at least 87 hotel rooms for two to three nights through the Giant Heart project. 

According to Lefteris Papadimas and Costas Baltas of Reuters, emergency crews have been battling wildfires near the Athens area that broke out because of extreme heat and high winds throughout the country this summer.

Agence France-Presse (h/t The Guardian) noted at least 150 houses have been destroyed by the fires. 

“We’re waging a battle of the titans!” Nikos Hardalias, Greece's deputy minister for civil protection, told reporters. “The hardest is still to come.”

Antetokounmpo was born and raised in Athens before coming to the United States to play professional basketball. The two-time NBA MVP continues to visit his home country every offseason. 

Prior to being drafted by the Bucks in 2013, Antetokounmpo began his professional career in Greece with Filathlitikos. 

The Memphis Grizzlies reportedly reached an agreement to trade guard Grayson Allen to the reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks for guard Sam Merrill and two future second-round draft picks.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the deal Friday.

Allen's role has steadily grown across three seasons since the Utah Jazz selected him in the first round of the 2018 draft. He averaged 10.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 50 appearances (38 starts) for the Grizzlies last season. He ranked 22nd among shooting guards in ESPN's real plus-minus.

The 25-year-old Duke product has made his largest impact as an outside shooter. He's knocked down 38.1 percent of his career three-point attempts and made 2.1 threes per game for Memphis in 2020-21. In five playoff games, he made 1.6 treys at a 38.1 percent clip.

Allen will likely take the rotation spot vacated by Bryn Forbes, who averaged 1.7 threes on 37.1 percent shooting in 20 games during the Bucks' postseason run to the title. In 70 regular-season games, including 10 starts, he made 2.2 threes on 45.2 percenting shooting. Forbes departed in free agency to rejoin the San Antonio Spurs, with whom he spent the first four seasons of his career.

Three-point shooting around the core trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday is a key reason Milwaukee captured its first championship since 1971.

Meanwhile, Merrill could have a better opportunity to carve out a consistent role with Memphis.

The 2020 second-round pick played a bit role during his rookie season, with just 7.8 minutes per game across 30 appearances. He also played five contests for the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies' G League affiliate, averaging 11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

He'll likely compete with Desmond Bane and De'Anthony Melton for minutes to open the 2021-22 campaign.

The Grizzlies also landed a couple of second-round choices to bolster their future roster-building efforts after posting a 38-34 record last season and reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17.

Veteran point guard George Hill is reportedly signing with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. 

That followed the Philadelphia 76ers release of Hill on Tuesday. 

Philadelphia makes it official on the George Hill waiver.

$1.275M cap hit

$12.8M below the tax

11 guaranteed contracts and 2 non

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 3, 2021

Hill, 35, appeared in just 30 games in stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers in 2020-21, as surgery on an injured thumb cost him a huge chunk of the season. 

He didn't offer the 76ers much after he was traded to the team and recovered from the surgery, averaging just 6.0 points and 1.9 assists in 18.9 minutes per game across 16 contests down the stretch. He shot 44.2 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three. 

He was even less a factor in the postseason, averaging 4.7 points in 17.1 minutes per game. 

But the Bucks are banking on Hill—who spent two seasons with the team before being traded to the Thunder ahead of last season—more closely resembling the player who averaged 10.7 points and 2.9 assists per game for them in two playoff runs. 

Hill will be an upgrade over Jeff Teague, who was a disappointment in Milwaukee, for the backup point guard minutes behind Jrue Holiday. 

The reigning champs haven't been too busy this offseason, with their marquee move being the re-signing of Bobby Portis, while the loss of key defender P.J. Tucker to the Miami Heat will sting. 

Veteran wing Rodney Hood agreed to a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski reported the Toronto Raptors will release Hood from his contract, thus freeing up him to join the Bucks when he clears waivers.

Eric Koreen of The Athletic reported July 27 the Raptors and Hood agreed to extend the deadline to guarantee his $10.85 million salary for 2021-22 until Tuesday.

Hood split his time between the Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers last season, which was the worst of his career to date. He averaged 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 36.2 percent from the floor and 30.1 percent from beyond the arc. 

The 28-year-old may have felt the lingering effects from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered in December 2019. 

Kevin Durant made a successful comeback from a major Achilles injury. He's also a generational talent who took an entire season off to recuperate, two things that don't apply to Hood. Perhaps Hood's Achilles tear will have long-term consequences on his game.

With that said, this is a sensible gamble for the Bucks.

The 6'8" forward is a career 36.7 percent shooter from three-point range. He has also lined up at four different positions—point guard, shooting guard, small forward and power forward—for varying stretches, making him a versatile piece in Milwaukee's rotation.

For the most part, the Bucks are running things back with the squad that delivered a championship in 2021. P.J. Tucker is the most notable defection after Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported he will sign with the Miami Heat. General manager Jon Horst doesn't need to do too much this offseason.

The cost to sign Hood will presumably be low, making him a low-risk addition who can add some scoring punch to the second unit. In the event his struggles from 2020-21 carry over, Milwaukee isn't tied down to anything beyond next season.