Giannis Teasing Bulls Fans About Maybe Playing In Chicago One Day Is Very Mean
I'll say it, this feels mean. One of the coolest things about Giannis is his loyalty. Players of his stature don't really appear to be all that loyal to their franchises, especially if they are a small market team. That's part of what makes Giannis so great and part of why their 2020 title was so awesome. A non-superteam got it done and arguably the best player in the world didn't need to leave that franchise and go to a big market to do it. Instead, all they've ever done is reinvest into the only franchise they've ever known. We live in an NBA world where the Kobe's, the Duncan's, the Dirks, and the Ginobili's of the world don't really exist anymore. Who could you see playing 20+ years with the same franchise? It just doesn't happen anymore.
I think for a lot of people, Giannis was that guy. Maybe Steph as well. The point is, you could probably count the guys on one hand who we might actually see play their entire career with one franchise. When it comes to Giannis, the good news is this is not something Bucks fans have to worry about any time soon
My guess is the only reason Giannis would turn down that $51M player option in 2025-26 would be so he could sign another supermax, so even if you want to live in a world where Giannis is going to hit the market, you're looking at the summer of 2026. That's not exactly right around the corner. Things can change quickly in the NBA, I get that, but every time any sort of speculation came up around Giannis the last time he was in a position to leave, he answered it by staying. It's a little mean to Bucks fans to now have this creep in the back of their mind while they are trying to enjoy Giannis' prime and the Bucks effort to get back into title contention after losing in the 2nd round this past summer. But this time it's a little different, this time Giannis is the one actually talking about it.
If we were to be honest about it, it's mostly a nothing comment. Mostly just paying respects to a legend in Jordan and one of the most iconic franchises in sports. But obviously, we can't just be honest. We have to speculate. We have to make something out of nothing because this is Giannis. Also it's the slow period in the league so what else are we going to do. Talk about KD trades some more?
Let's not forget there is some history there with CHI and Giannis. Being so close helps fuel that fire, there was obviously this play from when Giannis was younger
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and then we saw what happened this summer in their quick playoff series
Just a decent 28.6/13.4/6.2/1.4 on 56.8% shooting. He demolished the Bulls. Even the game the Bucks loist by 4 points Giannis had 33/18/9/2. They simply had no answer up front (and I'm not sure how much that's changed after this offseason). It would be pretty wild to see Giannis hop from the Bucks to the Bulls, but like Giannis said, he can't predict the future. You can't rule it out.
That's why this is truly mean to all the Bulls fans out there. We're not talking about some scrub or maybe a fringe All Star. This is GIANNIS. Even a 32 year old Giannis in 2026 is going to be a monster. What part about his game looks like it won't be awesome in 4 years? He's the type of player that could completely change a franchise, so for Bulls fans who are dying to get back to where they once were, having a Giannis dream be created because of that presser feels mean. You're not hearing Giannis talk about any other franchise like that. Do you hear him say
"Oh, you never know, maybe I'll play for the Hornets one day"
Of fucking course not.
Now who knows what the Bucks/Bulls rosters will look like by 2026, but I feel pretty confident in any team that is able to bring in a 32 year old Giannis would be pretty legit. Some might even call that team contenders. If Giannis is talking more about joining a different team after his next deal, so in like his age 36-37 season, I suppose that changes things a little bit, but my guess is Giannis will still have a LeBron/CP3 level impact in his late 30s. Again, he's Giannis! He barely has to jump to dunk, so I'm not too worried about his athleticism disappearing. Also, he's basically a Greek God so for all we know there won't even be a decline as he ages. We haven't exactly seen a ton of Giannis' over the years.
If this is really just a way to troll the Bulls and their fans because of a MIL/CHI rivalry, then kudos to Giannis. You know there are Bulls fans out there who have spent their day today dreaming about what it might look like to have Giannis come to town. I feel for those people, you don't deserve to be trolled like that. I can't say I care too much about Bucks fans now that I think about it and how they might be feeling, mostly because they were gigantic insecure babies when the Celts knocked them out.
When Giannis went on his title run, I talked about how I hoped he stayed in MIL his entire career because of how rare it is in today's NBA. I still feel this way but if Giannis did leave, I guess I wouldn't mind the Bulls. At least it wouldn't be the Lakers, because let's face it. Nobody wants that.