Even with how things ended, Giannis Antetokounmpo could come back to the franchise that developed him into an NBA champion a few years down the line. That's according to the Greek Freak himself in an interview with legendary announcer Jim Paschke earlier this week.
"That would be awesome if I can go and play and maybe come back. Kevin [Garnett] did the same thing. I saw this clip of him walking into the [Timberwolves'] arena, and [the fans] gave him a standing ovation, and people to this day love him," Giannis told Paschke.
Giannis Antetokounmpo could eventually return to the Milwaukee Bucks
Antetokounmpo has gone off to Miami, but it speaks volumes that his possible return has already crossed his mind.
Kevin Garnett spent his first 12 seasons with Minnesota before being traded to the Celtics, where he won a championship. Years later, he was traded back to Minnesota, where he played his final two seasons and got a massive standing ovation on the night of his homecoming.
If things work out that way, perhaps there is a world somewhere down the line where Giannis returns in the twilight years of his career to mentor the next generation of young Bucks. Maybe it's not even to be a veteran mentor but the missing piece to help bring another title to town.
A Milwaukee team that's spent the next four years building around the likes of Kel'el Ware, Brayden Burries, Nate Ament, and whatever else Jon Horst assembles might look like a contender again by the time Giannis is in his late thirties.
For this writer, what was most remarkable about the interview with Paschke was that Giannis arrived at that Garnett comparison all on his own, which means it's been on his mind. It's a beautiful thought, the concept of a player whose identity is so tied to a city that leaving doesn't actually sever the connection. That's how Giannis still sees Milwaukee. And that's how Milwaukee will (and should) always see Giannis.
Bucks fans should welcome Giannis back with open arms if he returns
The Bucks are in rebuild mode now; that much is clear. The Giannis era is over and the new one hasn't started yet. But somewhere between now and the end of whatever Giannis builds in Miami, there's a world where he walks back into Fiserv Forum to a standing ovation and the building shakes the way it used to in 2021. It won't be the ending anyone wanted, but it'll be a happy ending nonetheless to this chapter of Bucks history.
Giannis already knows it, and this interview proves he's already thought about it. And Milwaukee, even in the middle of everything it's rebuilding, should probably leave that door exactly where he left it: wide open.
No matter how you feel about the trade and the months leading up to it, any Bucks fan who watched the past 13 years of Bucks basketball should be delighted at the prospect of the Greek Freak coming back home later in his career. Despite everything, he is the greatest Milwaukee Buck of all time, and having him retire a Buck would be the perfect exclamation point to the career of one of the best to ever play the game.
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