Giannis Antetokounmpo is taking his talents to South Beach.
As reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to trade their franchise cornerstone and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis and three first-round picks (No. 13 in Tuesday’s NBA Draft and future selections in 2031 and 2033).
Miami will also surrender a pick swap in 2030 and a second-round pick in 2033.
Antetokounmpo, 31, is expected to sign a long-term extension with the Heat after more than a year of questions about his future in Milwaukee, where the Bucks failed to reach the postseason in 2026.
Despite earlier reports to the contrary, a third team was not ultimately required to facilitate Miami’s trade for Antetokounmpo. There were other suitors for Antetokounmpo as well, most notably the Boston Celtics, who reportedly offered a package that included 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown as well as two future first-round picks.
The Bucks-Heat deal is expected to be finalized on July 6, leaving open the possibility of some minor moving pieces as the NBA calendar flips in the coming days.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to sign a long-term extension with the Miami Heat
Miami will send guard Tyler Herro to Milwaukee, where he will be part of a new youth wave
The Daily Mail has sought confirmation from Heat and Bucks spokespeople.
Antetokounmpo hinted as his departure from Milwaukee earlier in the day with a cryptic social media post.
‘GOD,’ he began, ‘I trusted you at the beginning, and I will continue to trust you throughout.’
The post includes a black-and-white photo of Antetokounmpo with his back towards the camera as he walks away in the opposite direction.
Naturally, many of the Greek Freak’s followers took his post as something of a farewell.
‘We had a good run,’ one Bucks fan wrote while sharing a photo of Antetokounmpo from 2021, when he led Milwaukee to a title.
‘Thank you for inspiring me and so many others,’ another fan added. ‘You’re my basketball GOAT.’
Jaylen Brown was the reported centerpiece of the package Boston offered to Milwaukee
Following Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Jimmy Butler, Antetokounmpo is the latest big-name pickup of Heat president Pat Riley’s decorated tenure in Miami.
An NBA champion, two-time MVP and one-time Defensive Player of the Year, Antetokounmpo now joins a thinned-down Heat roster that still includes Bam Adebayo, the power forward who dropped 83 points in a March win over Washington last season.
The 6ft 11in Athens native is coming off an injury-plagued season that include issues with his knee, calf and groin. Ultimately the Bucks missed the playoffs entirely, as the 10th-place Heat qualified for the play-in tournament.
Although he remains one of the NBA’s premier talents and a perennial All-Star, Antetokounmpo’s future had been clouded by the Bucks’ recent struggles, the team’s decision to replace head coach Doc Rivers with Taylor Jenkins, and his own contract situation.
Currently he’s entering the final two years of his three-year, $175 million extension, but he will be eligible for a four-year, $275 million extension in early 2027.
