For six years, Thanasis Antetokounmpo has been a staple of the Milwaukee Bucks roster, bringing energy to the locker room and city while supporting his younger brother Giannis through some of their family's toughest times. That era is over, and the Heat are not following the Bucks blueprint, as Thanasis has signed a three-year deal to play for Aris B.C. in Greece, where he will play alongside his brother Kostas.
Heat not signing any of Giannis' brothers
The Heat are taking a firm stance following their acquisition of the two-time MVP by not bringing in any of Giannis' brothers on their roster. It is a change for the Milwaukee front office, as a spot was always made available for one of Giannis' brothers when they were healthy to keep the superstar comfortable, but Thanasis also brought a lot to the locker room and was loved by all his teammates.
Miami has taken a similar path to the Bucks with their team-building by bringing in shooting with the likes of Klay Thompson to play alongside Giannis. The Heat gave up so much depth and key rotation pieces in the deal that it has left them scouring the rest of free agency to fill out their roster, but we've seen Erik Spoelstra do this before and have success.
For Thanasis, his impact on the Bucks and Milwaukee, alongside his brothers, won't be forgotten. He heads to Greece to play with Kostas and to be led by a familiar face on the bench: Greece national team head coach Vasilis Spanoulis. Alex plays for Promitheas Patras in Greece, so we may get to see three of the brothers face off in a game at some point this season.
Bucks heading into a new era and a blank slate
Not only will the Bucks not have an Antetokounmpo on their roster, but they will also look at this season differently than they did the last decade. Contending and buying to try to push for an NBA title is not the target anymore; it's a case of development and finding who the guys are for the future.
Think back to 2023, when the Bucks were running out lineups of players all 30 years old and older and were run out of the gym by the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs. Now, the average age of the team has dropped significantly, and there is so much potential on the roster to be excited about.
Brayden Burries and Nate Ament are exciting draft picks who showed plenty of promise in Summer League. Kasparas Jakucionis and Bogoljub Markovic could be hidden gems, while Kel'el Ware is a blue-chip guy with an unbelievably high ceiling as a stretch big.
It's a different time now for the Bucks.
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