Giannis Antetokounmpo has signed the largest contract in NBA history.
The rising NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has signed a five-year, $228 million supermax extension with his team, making the 26 years old the sixth league player to sign the extension since 2017.
ESPN reported that five-year extension begins at 35% of the salary cap, with an 8% escalation each year after. He is untradeable for the first year after signing. There is also an opt-out clause in 2025.
Though speculation was rampant about Antetokounmpo’s future and feelings on the Bucks organization, he has long maintained a public desire to stay with the team that drafted him in 2013.
“This is one of the great days in Bucks history,” Bucks president Peter Feigin said at a Milwaukee Press Club event.
A bonus with tons of merit
USA Today adds that Antetokounmpo qualified for the supermax by hitting every possible requirement. He completed seven years and has one year left on his current deal (therefore will have completed eight years of service by the end of his current contract); he has been named all-NBA each of the past four seasons; he has won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards and also was the defensive player of the year last season.
To win that and an MVP was a historic feat accomplished only by Michael Jordan (1987-88) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94).
After winning the MVP for the 2019-20 season, Antetokounmpo said, “As long as everybody’s on the same page and as long as everybody’s fighting for the same thing, fighting for the same thing every single day, which is to be a champion, I don’t see why not to be in Milwaukee for the next 15 years.”
When he signed a four-year, $100 million extension in 2016, he spoke of staying in Milwaukee to create a legacy much like his mentor and hero Kobe Bryant had in Los Angeles.
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
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