NBA | It wasn’t easy for Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay with Milwaukee: John Horst

Giannis Antetokounmpo gave the Milwaukee Bucks fans a reason to celebrate and rejoice when he signed a $228 million supermax contract extension for five years with the organization on December 15.

He penned down the deal just a week before the December 21 deadline and it seemed like he has his heart set with the organization. However, it has been revealed that the decision wasn’t as easy for him as it looked like.

“It wasn’t an easy decision for him,” Bucks GM Jon Horst told Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

“… I think it’s something that he went back and forth on, considered everything like he should, during a major decision like this in his life and for his career. And at the end of the day, I think he put faith in the organization, that we’re gonna continue to do everything we can to become great and be great every year, not just once.”

Horst also said that Antetokounmpo’s decision to stay with the Bucks sums up the kind of faith he has in the organization. He trusts them to help him with building a Championship winning squad around him in the coming years. Horst also praised the team for building such a good culture and environment that made their star player stay with the organization.

“I think it shows mostly a lot about Giannis and his desire to win and to be part of a culture where winning is first and foremost, and where the resources are going to be provided to you to win and continue to push the envelope and be in a position, year in and year out, to compete at the highest level. But to do it in a family environment, in a healthy environment, where people want to come to work every day and enjoy what they do every day. And for us, the goal from day one has been to create that environment, create that culture, and not just do that, but also to win at a high level … We haven’t gotten to where we want to get, but you can see a path and obviously he can see a path. And that’s where he put his trust in.”