Giannis Antetokounmpo recently said that he does not want to spend 20 years on the same team without winning another championship. The former back-to-back MVP is now entering Year 11 with the Milwaukee Bucks, and he’s now made it abundantly clear that he’s only going to stay for another decade if he’s in a position to compete for a title every single year.
Gilbert Arenas Chimes In on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Contentious Comments
One man who actually stayed with the same team for two decades is Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant. If the Bucks want to use Kobe’s Lakers career as a blueprint for Giannis then they must go all-in on surrounding Antetkounmpo with as many weapons as they can to help him win another championship. Re-signing Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, and Jae Crowder this offseason might not be enough.
If you ask former three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas, he believes that Giannis is actually following in Kobe’s footsteps by not signing an extension with the Bucks. Arenas compared Antetokounmpo’s current situation with Kobe’s when the four-time NBA champ’s future in LA was put into question amid the uncertainty surrounding the Lakers’ commitment to winning a title.
“[Giannis] is doing what Kobe Bryant did,” Arenas said (h/ Lee Tran of Fadeaway World) “… ‘Before I sign this thing, what are we doing here… I don’t want to be Allen Iverson. I don’t want to be Charles Barkley… I wanna win multiple, cause that’s what the legacy is built on’… He’s just using his leverage.”
This actually makes a lot of sense. I don’t see Giannis as the type who will jump ship when the going gets tough. After all, he’s remained loyal to Milwaukee for more than a decade now. His recent comments just seem like a stern reminder to the organization about his own championship aspirations and how they must never rest on their own.
