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Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the NBA's most recognizable faces. He's also one of the most recognizable names and that's what happens when you're a two-time MVP and the current reigning NBA champion.
Yet, last year's championship run almost didn't happen. From his gruesome knee injury to his struggles with health and fitness, there were a ton of roadblocks on the way to Giannis Antetokounmpo's first ring.
However, no roadblock was bigger than the one the Milwaukee Bucks faced before last season even began. They had to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to re-sign with the team long-term.
"I will say I want to play with the best players; I wish K.D. was on my team, not against me. I wish LeBron was on my team, not against me. Steph, on my team," Giannis Antetokounmpo told Zach Baron in a recent interview with GQ Magazine.
Antetokounmpo grew up in Athens, Greece, with little money and even less prospects of a prosperous future. The Milwaukee Bucks took a chance on a little-known commodity out of the doldrums of the European basketball scene.
They helped develop him into an NBA champion and changed the fortunes of his family as well. Giannis Antetokounmpo felt an obligation to both the franchise and the city - to bring an NBA championship home to Milwaukee, as a thank you for all they had done for him.
Shortly after signing his contract extension, he achieved that goal.
"The next challenge might not be here" - Giannis Antetokounmpo raises doubts about his future in Milwaukee
Last year's NBA triumph meant everything to both Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks and was exactly what they had been building towards. But the future of the team's star player has become slightly less clear because of it.
"It (winning the NBA Championship) was very hard, but we did. Very, very hard. I just love challenges. What’s the next challenge? The next challenge might not be here," Giannis Antetokounmpo told Zach Baron. "Me and my family chose to stay in this city that we all love and has taken care of us - for now. In two years, that might change."
Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the first year of his five-year extension. So unless he requests out of Milwaukee in the next few years, there's every reason to believe he'll start his own recruitment drive. Perhaps Antetokounmpo will bring the players he loves competing with to the Bucks franchise.
"When you think about it from a basketball perspective, by the age of 26, this kid has accomplished everything, So sometimes you’re going to have to manufacture what those challenges are," Alex Saratsis (Giannis' agent) told Zach Baron.
For now, Giannis Antetokounmpo remains a Milwaukee Bucks player, and both he and the franchise have another championship run in their sights.
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