{"id":91799,"date":"2026-07-06T14:46:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/giannis-bids-emotional-farewell-to-milwaukee-after-trade-to-miami-heat\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:46:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:46:22","slug":"giannis-bids-emotional-farewell-to-milwaukee-after-trade-to-miami-heat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/giannis-bids-emotional-farewell-to-milwaukee-after-trade-to-miami-heat\/","title":{"rendered":"Giannis Bids Emotional Farewell to Milwaukee After Trade to Miami Heat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MIAMI \u2014 Before Giannis Antetokounmpo could look ahead to his future in Miami, he felt the need to look back and say goodbye to Milwaukee.<\/p>

The NBA officially approved the blockbuster trade Monday that sends Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat in exchange for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, and draft picks. Antetokounmpo is expected to arrive in South Florida within a few days to formally begin his tenure with the Heat.<\/p>

Before making that move, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 10-time All-Star shared a deeply personal video message on social media, reflecting on what Milwaukee has meant to him over 13 seasons.<\/p>

“I want you to hear from my mouth, the city of Milwaukee will always be in my heart,” Antetokounmpo said in the video. “This is my home, and this is a place that I had my kids. … It made me the man that I am today. That will never ever change. No matter where I am, Milwaukee will always be my city, my team, my family.”<\/p>

Antetokounmpo leaves Milwaukee as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 21,531 points \u2014 a total that surpasses the previous record by more than 7,000 points over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s time with the team. He also holds the franchise records for rebounds and assists, and ranks second all-time in steals.<\/p>

Miami Heat President Pat Riley celebrated the deal enthusiastically, calling it a landmark moment in the organization’s history.<\/p>

“The announcement of today’s trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis Jr. is one of the great trades in Heat history,” Riley said. “In my opinion, Giannis is one of the top five players in the league and Bobby is one of the best power forwards. The difficult part is trading Tyler, Kasparas, Jaime and Kel’el, who have given so much to this organization. We wish them nothing but the best.”<\/p>

Bucks General Manager Jon Horst also issued a statement, describing the trade as the right move for all parties and praising Antetokounmpo’s lasting impact on the franchise.<\/p>

“Since we drafted him in 2013, Giannis has transformed the Milwaukee Bucks in every way \u2014 on the court, in our locker room and throughout the community,” Horst said. “Over 13 seasons, he became an extraordinary leader, teammate and representative of this city, and one of the defining players of his generation. The standard he set will continue here.”<\/p>

The crown jewel of Antetokounmpo’s time in Milwaukee was undoubtedly the 2021 NBA championship. He poured in 50 points during the title-clinching Game 6 win over Phoenix, earning NBA Finals MVP honors by a wide margin.<\/p>

In his farewell message, Antetokounmpo said the championship was as meaningful to him as he hoped it was to the fans who supported him throughout his career.<\/p>

“I believe the city of Milwaukee is blue collar,” he said. “It’s people that work extremely hard every single day. They give all their hard-earned money just to come watch the Milwaukee Bucks, to come and feel something, to come, to be a part of us.<\/p>

“I hope that I was able to represent them the best that I could. And I was like them. I showed up to work, did everything. I was willing to do all the dirty work, just like them. I hope that bringing a trophy to this city meant something to them, because it meant so much to me.”<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 13-year run with the Milwaukee Bucks came to an official close Monday when the NBA approved his trade to the Miami Heat. In a heartfelt video message, the two-time MVP expressed deep gratitude to Milwaukee, calling it his home and family. Antetokounmpo is expected to arrive in Miami within the next few days to begin his new chapter with the Heat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":91798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1783363582237.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-nSD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":85479,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/giannis-antetokounmpo-traded-to-miami-heat-in-massive-blockbuster-deal\/","url_meta":{"origin":91799,"position":0},"title":"Giannis Antetokounmpo Traded to Miami Heat in Massive Blockbuster Deal","author":"Admin","date":"June 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Miami Heat have acquired two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster trade. 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The trade reflects a growing trend in the NBA where teams aggressively pursue championship opportunities rather\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1782246767136.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1782246767136.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1782246767136.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/news-1782246767136.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":85689,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/milwaukee-bucks-trade-franchise-legend-giannis-antetokounmpo-to-miami-heat\/","url_meta":{"origin":91799,"position":2},"title":"Milwaukee Bucks Trade Franchise Legend Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami Heat","author":"Admin","date":"June 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to trade superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat in a blockbuster deal that marks the end of an era in Wisconsin. 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