Giannis Antetokounmpo Teases Chicago Bulls Fans With Windy City Pipe Dream

It’s the dog days of the NBA offseason, which is when fans are looking to latch onto anything for some excitement. Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo provided that to Chicago Bulls fans during a recent press appearance in which he said he’s open to playing for the Bulls “down the line.”

Giannis was asked by FOX 32’s Lou Canellis about the possibility of joining the Bulls when his contract with the Bucks is up. Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, $228 million supermax contract in 2020 after endless rumors about his possible exit from Milwaukee. The contract takes him through 2026, but he has a player option worth nearly $52 million in 2025-26 and could hit free agency in 2025 when he’s 30 years old.

“I think anybody you ask that question that plays basketball, if he said no, he would be a liar,” Antetokounmpo said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “It’s (the Bulls) a team that won multiple championships. It’s a team that one of the greatest players — if not the greatest player — to ever play this game played for. So it’s a no-brainer. Everybody would love to play for Chicago.

“Down the line, you never know. You never know how life brings it. Maybe I’ll play for Chicago. But right now I’m committed to Milwaukee.”

Antetokounmpo was just a toddler during the Bulls’ second three-peat led by Michael Jordan, but His Airness and that dynasty helped make the franchise a popular worldwide brand. There’s also an amusing anecdote in Mirin Fader’s Giannis biography, Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP, that features a young Antetokounmpo in Greece watching NBA highlights, pointing to a Chicago Bulls uniform and saying, “One day, I’m going to be wearing one of those jerseys in the NBA.”

So Giannis is definitely joining the Bulls in a few years, right?!

As fun as it is to think about, probably not. While a lot can change in the coming years and nothing should ever be ruled out, Antetokounmpo was likely just having some fun and pandering in response to a Chicago reporter asking a question about the hometown team. And maybe he was sending a subtle message to Bucks management in the process to make sure they do all they can to win more championships after breaking through in 2021.

It would be surprising for Giannis to leave the Bucks for the Central Division rival right down the road. He’s a hero in Milwaukee thanks to that 2021 title and seems like a guy who could follow in the footsteps of Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant and play 20-plus seasons with one team.

If Antetokounmpo were to actually leave Milwaukee for Chicago at some point, it feels like something that would happen at the tail end of his career and not when he’s still in his prime at 30 or 31 years old. Think of Dwyane Wade joining the Bulls in 2016 instead of 2010.

But, as much of a pipe dream as this is, juicy quotes like this are great to overreact to when things are boring in the summer. Bulls fans needed some excitement ahead of the 2022-23 schedule release on Wednesday, and this delivered.