Former NBA guard Brandon Jennings offered a perspective on the end of the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo's 13-year era. The Bucks traded Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat this week, which didn't come as a surprise given the Heat had advanced in a two-team race with the Boston Celtics amid Milwaukee's Giannis sweepstakes. However, looking back on The Greek Freak's tenure, there's plenty for fans to smile about despite watching the franchise's greatest player in over 50 years head to Miami.
Jennings, who played alongside Antetokounmpo in 2017-18 of the two-time MVP's NBA career, reacted to the Giannis trade to the Heat, per the Gil's Arena podcast.
“It was bittersweet,” Jennings said. “It's a relationship that needed a breakup. I think if you had kept it going and lingered, it would have ended really badly. Giannis, to me, is the staple of what a professional athlete is supposed to be when it comes to going through the league, but also with the Bucks, working hard. They said he wasn't going to be an MVP. He wasn't going to do this, wasn't going to be all that, and did everything. So, the Bucks got what they wanted.”
As a two-time MVP and perennial All-Star, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to a 2021 championship, which is as rewarding as it gets when it comes to having one of the brightest stars of his era for over a decade.
“They drafted someone, and we're just looking at the draft, but when you draft a player, you're hoping that you get the best, and you get the most out of that draft pick, and they did, with Giannis, for 13 years,” Jennings added. “And he brought excitement, and he brought something to the city that they hadn't seen in 50 years. So, to me, he did his job.”
Brandon calls the end of the Giannis/Bucks era bittersweet pic.twitter.com/BPsEzu4gHB
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) June 24, 2026
For Brandon Jennings, the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounpo era was unforgettable, and one that should be cherished by fans in Milwaukee.
How Giannis Antetokounmpo ghosted the Bucks front office
All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo's divorce from the Bucks organization was a foregone conclusion entering the offseason. However, before his trade to the Heat, Antetokounmpo had no communication with the Bucks front office, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Jim Owczarski.
“Despite a March proclamation that his relationship with the team could be salvaged with ‘couples therapy,' Antetokounmpo said on April 12 he was going to put his phone on ‘do not disturb' and not answer it,” Owczarski wrote.
“‘Just stay away from it – all of it,” he said. ‘I feel like this season, not just because of the way it went, it was draining for me for sure, and how everybody approached my situation and the Bucks situation. But again, if it was draining for me, it was definitely draining for the team and for the organization.'
