Giannis set to open season with Bucks after team brings back brother Thanasis
giannis-set-to-open-season-with-bucks-after-bringing-back-thanasis
The Milwaukee Bucks have signed forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo to a guaranteed one-year contract worth $2.9 million, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The agreement, confirmed in a team news release relayed by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, gives Milwaukee 15 players on fully guaranteed deals.
Charania reports that the move solidifies Giannis Antetokounmpo’s plan to remain with the Bucks when training camp opens. The two-time MVP, currently competing for Greece in the EuroBasket tournament, had spent the offseason evaluating options but now intends to start the 2025-26 campaign in Milwaukee.
Thanasis, 32, is also playing for Greece after being medically cleared this spring from an Achilles tendon tear suffered late in the 2023-24 season. He underwent surgery in early May 2024 and was a free agent last season, having spent most of his NBA career on minimum contracts alongside his younger brother.
The elder Antetokounmpo appeared in 196 regular-season games for Milwaukee between 2019 and 2024 and played twice for the New York Knicks in 2015-16. He logged 34 games for the Bucks last year and owns career averages of 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per contest.
With Thanasis back, Milwaukee’s roster crunch could affect Andre Jackson Jr. The former UConn guard has $800,000 guaranteed on a $2,221,677 contract that becomes fully guaranteed if he makes the opening-night roster, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes.
Source: HoopsRumors
