Milwaukee Bucks: 3 decisions that helped the Bucks win 2021 NBA title

Decisions that helped the Milwaukee Bucks win 2021 NBA title: No. 1 – Signing Giannis Antetokounmpo to a supermax extension

Unlike the first two mentions on this list, this one was something that the Bucks had no control over. Management offered Giannis Antetokounmpo the supermax extension the moment he was eligible for it, but it would be up to him to sign it or possibly leave the door open for another year and hold out until the next offseason to decide. Despite failing in back-to-back postseasons, the decision was made, and Antetokounmpo signed the deal just before the season began.

He signed the deal for a handful of reasons. First off, Antetokounmpo had proven to be extremely loyal to Milwaukee, and as long as they were in a position to win, he wanted to stay. Trading for Holiday also helped fit the billing as Antetokounmpo believed that the guard would put the Bucks in a better position to make a run at a title, which proved true in the end. Many ridiculed the move and said that Antetokounmpo would never win in Milwaukee, but that is no longer true less than a year later.

Although the Bucks would have had Antetokounmpo under contract regardless this past season had he not signed the supermax, things might not have played out the same. In the previous two years before the extension, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were constantly hit with questions regarding the two-time MVP’s future with the team and whether or not he would be on the move elsewhere. Milwaukee’s playoff woes only intensified the narrative that he should leave, and had he not signed the deal before the season, that discussion would have followed the team during the year.

Wanting to avoid that distraction entirely, Antetokounmpo agreed to the deal. Putting the pen to paper silenced any and all speculation that he might leave and helped the Bucks focus solely on basketball. Management would no longer have any sleepless nights thinking about whether or not they had done enough to put the team in the best decision to win. Antetokounmpo was content with the roster, and he was right to believe in it as they would win the 2020-21 title.

Milwaukee’s front office has done a great job of making roster moves over the past few years, and time will tell if they have more tricks up their sleeve in the future.