Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo put an end to all the uncertainty surrounding his future when he decided to sign a three-year extension right before the regular season started.
Bucks fans everywhere breathed a collective sigh of relief the moment news broke about Antetokunmpo’s massive $186 million extension. As the supporters were celebrating this huge win, they all probably had a hunch deep down that Giannis jumping ship had become a distinct possibility.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Recruited by Rivals Before Milwaukee Bucks Extension
As it turns out, all this drama led to opposing superstars trying their luck on Antetokounmpo. According to a report by ESPN’s NBA insider Ramona Shelburne, stars from rival teams had already started reaching out to Giannis with the hope of recruiting him to their team:
“Rival superstars had begun reaching out to Antetokounmpo, pitching new collaborations, league sources told ESPN,” Shelburne wrote.
Unfortunately, the identities of these aforementioned rival superstars were not revealed. After all, this would probably be considered tampering by the league and these players as well as their teams would likely be facing some sort of punishment from the league.
What you can take away from this bombshell, however, is that it seems that there was more than just one superstar who attempted to poach the two-time NBA MVP away from the Bucks.
Rival Teams Geared Up for Bidding War
As it turns out, it wasn’t just the stars who were plotting. Even opposing teams had already laid out their respective blueprints as they prepared themselves for what could possibly be the coup of the century:
“Rival teams had already begun planning for a potential bidding war, league sources told ESPN, should Antetokounmpo ever become available,” Shelburne reported.
This comes as no surprise at all. In fact, you would expect each and every team in the NBA to, at the very least, do their due diligence on the possibility of stealing Giannis away from the Bucks. This man is a generational talent and letting the opportunity to recruit him onto your team would be a massive mistake.
At the end of the day, though, whatever preparations these teams went through were all put to waste after Giannis decided to commit his future to Milwaukee. Opposing teams probably saw this coming anyway but at the same time, you can’t really blame them for shooting their shot.
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