Nigerian-born basketball star, Guiannis Antetokounmpo (The Greek Freak) had a dramatic start to his days at Miami Heat of USA, as the Greece international sensationally dumped his favourite jersey number 34 and picked seven minutes after sealing the deal.
Sports247 gathered that many fans of the USA National Basketball Association (NBA) club had already started buying The Heats’ new jersey with number 34 inscribed under Antetokounmpo’s name, only for the franchise to announce minutes later that the star will wear seven instead.
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A report by Yahoo Sports staff writer, Jason Owens added, “Miami Heat confirmed Monday that Antetokounmpo will switch from the No. 34 he wore in 13 seasons with Milwaukee Bucks to No. 7 in Miami. The Heat announced the number change hours after the trade from the Bucks became official.
“(It came) not long after the team started selling No. 34 Antetokounmpo jerseys in its online and brick-and-mortar stores. However, they soon found out that the jersey switch had earlier been granted and Antetokounmpo will be the 14th player in Heat history to wear No. 7.
“(He will be) following the footsteps of several notable players – including Rex Chapman, Penny Hardaway, Shawn Marion, Jermaine O’Neal, Kyle Lowry and Kel’el Ware, who was traded to Milwaukee in the deal to acquire Antetokounmpo.
“The Heat also announced that people who had ordered his No. 34 jerseys online would instead receive replacements emblazoned with No. 7. Those already in possession of No. 34 jerseys have an option: turn it in for the new number or hold on to an old potential collector’s item.”
All this happpened after Antetokounmpo released a tribute video on social media in honour of his former team, Milwaukee Bucks and the city in which they are based, where he excelled in all his first 13 seasons of featuring in the NBA.
The former two-time NBA most valuable player personally posted the video that featured highlights from his Bucks career, including his selection by the team on draft day in 2013 and their second title conquest in 2021.
Antetokounmpo addressed the city of Milwaukee and Bucks’ fans directly, rather than the maverick franchise itself and he declared at length: “I believe the city of Milwaukee is blue collar. Its people that work extremely hard every single day and give all their hard-earned money just to watch the Milwaukee Bucks.
“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 that I was willing to do, all the dirty work. Just like them. I want you to hear it from my mouth.
“The city of Milwaukee will always be in my heart. This is my home. This is a place that I had my kids. My mom is here. My father is here. My brothers played here. It made me the man that I am today. That will never ever change.”
Sports247 gathered further that LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Shaquille O’Neal and Jimmy Butler all changed their jersey numbers when joining The Heat, following which three of those four stars won the NBA title, thereby meaning that Antetokounmpo is now thinking in the same direction.
