Milwaukee Bucks: As Expected, Thanasis Antetokounmpo is Back

The question wasn’t if Thanasis Antetokounmpo would be back with the Milwaukee Bucks, but rather when would he be back with the Milwaukee Bucks.

After Milwaukee’s free-agent frenzy that included re-signing Bobby Portis, the signing of George Hill, Rodney Hood, and Semi Ojeleye, as well as the trade for Grayson Allen, the eldest Antetokounmpo brother will be back as well, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

We don’t know the contract details at this time, other than it’s a two-year deal with a player option. But don’t worry, it’s not as if this is going to break the bank.

In his limited playing time, Thanasis has carved out a role as the Bucks’ high-energy defender off the bench and strong rebounder. But more importantly, he is the hype-man for his younger brother and two-time MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Last season was Thanasis’ second in Milwaukee. He would appear in 57 games, averaging 9.7 minutes per contest, along with 2.9 points and 2.2 rebounds—all increases from the 2019-2020 season.

Despite missing the Milwaukee Bucks’ first playoff series with the Miami Heat and the final two games of the NBA Finals due to COVID protocols, Antetokounmpo would still appear in 13 postseason games.

He averaged 3.4 minutes and scored nine total points, and came away with 10 rebounds during that span.

With the re-signing of Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks now have 16 players on their roster along with rookie Sandro Mamukelashvili on a two-way contract with the Wisconsin Herd—the Bucks’ G-League affiliate.

They’ll need to trim their roster from 16 players down to 15 before the season begins. As Ben Steele of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes, Milwaukee still has a two-way deal available, and Elijah Bryant along with Mamadi Diakite are on non-guaranteed contracts.