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The dragged-out Giannis Antetokounmpo departure saga from the Milwaukee Bucks has finally come to an end, with the two-time league MVP finally getting dealt away by the team that drafted him 15th overall all the way back in 2013. Antetokounmpo leaves behind an amazing legacy in Milwaukee, as not only did he win MVP twice, but he also made 10 All-Star appearances as a Buck, nine All-NBA teams (seven as a 1st Teamer), won Defensive Player of the Year in 2018-19 and, most importantly, brought home a championship in 2020-21, just the second in the franchise's long history.
Overall, last summer, we ranked Antetokounmpo as the 22nd-greatest player in league history, a feat that he accomplished behind a legacy he built entirely in Milwaukee, showing what a legend he is in Bucks lore.
The blockbuster Antetokounmpo deal got us thinking about whether or not the Greek Freak is the biggest team legend ever to be traded by the team with which they became a legend.
And we think he more than likely deserves that honor.
Antetokounmpo's biggest competition in this regard is the Big Aristotle, Shaquille O'Neal. After four impressive seasons to start off his career with the Orlando Magic, O'Neal reached another stratum in L.A., spending eight near-immaculate years with the Lakers, putting up 27.0 points over that stretch to go with 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 blocks on 57.5 percent shooting. O'Neal won league MVP in 1999-00, and was a 1st Team All-NBAer six out of those eight seasons. On top of that, Superman led the Lakers to a threepeat from '00 to '02, winning Finals MVP all three years, as he performed like one of the most unstoppable forces basketball had ever seen.
Let's put it this way: NBA teams were dolling out contracts to 7-footers who probably wouldn't sniff a league contract today, just to have an extra six fouls to throw at O'Neal. That's how ridiculous peak O'Neal was.
O'Neal's time with the Lakers finally ended in the 2004 offseason, after the two sides couldn't agree on his next contract. Besides that, L.A. also decided to choose the younger Kobe Bryant as their next franchise cornerstone, which paid off, as Bryant led the team to two more titles in the late '00s. O'Neal was traded that summer to the Miami Heat, in exchange for two interesting young pieces in Caron Butler and Lamar Odom, a solid vet in Brian Grant, as well as a 2006 first-round pick and a 2007 second-round pick, making him one of the greatest players ever to be traded.
Shaq's time with the Lakers might have had more accolades than Antetokounmpo's in Milwaukee, but Antetokounmpo was actually drafted and developed by the Bucks, making him more of a part of the Bucks franchise fabric than O'Neal ever was for the Lakers, in our estimation. Plus, Los Angeles has such a rich basketball history that O'Neal might not even be the franchise's best center of all time; a strong case can be made for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who even O'Neal ranks ahead of himself, while Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan also deserve consideration.
On the other hand, Antetokounmpo doesn't face as much competition among Bucks legends. Had Abdul-Jabbar spent his entire career in Milwaukee, he might have gotten the nod ahead of Antetokounmpo as Mr. All-Time Buck, but Karem left the Bucks after just six seasons (three of which saw him win MVP), while the Greek superstar spent 13 seasons in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo ranks first in Bucks history in appearances, first in points, first in rebounds and even first in assists.
So, although O'Neal has a strong case to be considered the biggest team legend ever to be traded, we're giving the nod to Antetokounmpo here.
Another player who probably deserves consideration here is Kevin Garnett, who was as loyal as they come to the Minnesota Timberwolves, before finally getting upset that the team shopped him and accepted a trade to the Boston Celtics in the 2008 offseason. Garnett spent 12 seasons in Minnesota to start off his career, one fewer than Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, averaging 20.5 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.7 blocks in that stretch. During that span, Garnett won MVP once, made eight All-NBA teams (three as a 1st Teamer) and was a six-time 1st Team All-Defender.
But he was never able to get Minnesota to the promised land - in fact, the Wolves never even got to the Finals in the Garnett era, though that was no fault of his own, as he got next to no star help - while Antetokounmpo was, so we gave the nod to Antetokounmpo over Garnett, too.
O'Neal and Garnett were pretty much the only players who gave Antetokounmpo much competition here, though, as the other top stars who got traded by teams they became legends either didn't leave as much of a legacy on those teams before being dealt, or they simply weren't as good as Antetokounmpo.
Patrick Ewing ended his career in New York by being moved in 2000, and he was certainly a big deal for the Knicks, but he not only never won a ring in the Big Apple, but he also never finished even in the Top 3 in an MVP vote, so we - and just about everyone else - rank Antetokounmpo ahead of him all-time.
Oscar Robertson was rather traded by the Cincinnati Royals in 1970, and his resume with the Royals rather closely resembles Antetokounmpo's in Milwaukee (nine 1st Team All-NBAs and one MVP), but Antetokounmpo won a ring with the Bucks, and Robertson didn't win one in Cincinnati, so again, Antetokounmpo gets the nod here. Allen Iverson was likewise a legend with his team, the 76ers, winning one league MVP award and carrying the team to the Finals in 2001 before Philadelphia decided to rebuild and traded him in 2006, but we rank Antetokounmpo higher than Iverson all-time.
And there were other all-timers who were traded by their teams, like Paul Pierce, James Harden, Gary Payton and George Gervin, but we rank Antetokounmpo higher than those players in league history.
Note: Hakeem Olajuwon would have gotten consideration here, of course, but his situation was more of a free-agent decision sign-and-trade. The rest of these players were actually traded.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Giannis Antetokounmpo arguably biggest team legend ever traded away
Continue reading...
Overall, last summer, we ranked Antetokounmpo as the 22nd-greatest player in league history, a feat that he accomplished behind a legacy he built entirely in Milwaukee, showing what a legend he is in Bucks lore.
The blockbuster Antetokounmpo deal got us thinking about whether or not the Greek Freak is the biggest team legend ever to be traded by the team with which they became a legend.
And we think he more than likely deserves that honor.
Antetokounmpo's biggest competition in this regard is the Big Aristotle, Shaquille O'Neal. After four impressive seasons to start off his career with the Orlando Magic, O'Neal reached another stratum in L.A., spending eight near-immaculate years with the Lakers, putting up 27.0 points over that stretch to go with 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 blocks on 57.5 percent shooting. O'Neal won league MVP in 1999-00, and was a 1st Team All-NBAer six out of those eight seasons. On top of that, Superman led the Lakers to a threepeat from '00 to '02, winning Finals MVP all three years, as he performed like one of the most unstoppable forces basketball had ever seen.
Let's put it this way: NBA teams were dolling out contracts to 7-footers who probably wouldn't sniff a league contract today, just to have an extra six fouls to throw at O'Neal. That's how ridiculous peak O'Neal was.
O'Neal's time with the Lakers finally ended in the 2004 offseason, after the two sides couldn't agree on his next contract. Besides that, L.A. also decided to choose the younger Kobe Bryant as their next franchise cornerstone, which paid off, as Bryant led the team to two more titles in the late '00s. O'Neal was traded that summer to the Miami Heat, in exchange for two interesting young pieces in Caron Butler and Lamar Odom, a solid vet in Brian Grant, as well as a 2006 first-round pick and a 2007 second-round pick, making him one of the greatest players ever to be traded.
Shaq's time with the Lakers might have had more accolades than Antetokounmpo's in Milwaukee, but Antetokounmpo was actually drafted and developed by the Bucks, making him more of a part of the Bucks franchise fabric than O'Neal ever was for the Lakers, in our estimation. Plus, Los Angeles has such a rich basketball history that O'Neal might not even be the franchise's best center of all time; a strong case can be made for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who even O'Neal ranks ahead of himself, while Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan also deserve consideration.
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On the other hand, Antetokounmpo doesn't face as much competition among Bucks legends. Had Abdul-Jabbar spent his entire career in Milwaukee, he might have gotten the nod ahead of Antetokounmpo as Mr. All-Time Buck, but Karem left the Bucks after just six seasons (three of which saw him win MVP), while the Greek superstar spent 13 seasons in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo ranks first in Bucks history in appearances, first in points, first in rebounds and even first in assists.
So, although O'Neal has a strong case to be considered the biggest team legend ever to be traded, we're giving the nod to Antetokounmpo here.
Another player who probably deserves consideration here is Kevin Garnett, who was as loyal as they come to the Minnesota Timberwolves, before finally getting upset that the team shopped him and accepted a trade to the Boston Celtics in the 2008 offseason. Garnett spent 12 seasons in Minnesota to start off his career, one fewer than Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, averaging 20.5 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.7 blocks in that stretch. During that span, Garnett won MVP once, made eight All-NBA teams (three as a 1st Teamer) and was a six-time 1st Team All-Defender.
But he was never able to get Minnesota to the promised land - in fact, the Wolves never even got to the Finals in the Garnett era, though that was no fault of his own, as he got next to no star help - while Antetokounmpo was, so we gave the nod to Antetokounmpo over Garnett, too.
O'Neal and Garnett were pretty much the only players who gave Antetokounmpo much competition here, though, as the other top stars who got traded by teams they became legends either didn't leave as much of a legacy on those teams before being dealt, or they simply weren't as good as Antetokounmpo.
Patrick Ewing ended his career in New York by being moved in 2000, and he was certainly a big deal for the Knicks, but he not only never won a ring in the Big Apple, but he also never finished even in the Top 3 in an MVP vote, so we - and just about everyone else - rank Antetokounmpo ahead of him all-time.
Oscar Robertson was rather traded by the Cincinnati Royals in 1970, and his resume with the Royals rather closely resembles Antetokounmpo's in Milwaukee (nine 1st Team All-NBAs and one MVP), but Antetokounmpo won a ring with the Bucks, and Robertson didn't win one in Cincinnati, so again, Antetokounmpo gets the nod here. Allen Iverson was likewise a legend with his team, the 76ers, winning one league MVP award and carrying the team to the Finals in 2001 before Philadelphia decided to rebuild and traded him in 2006, but we rank Antetokounmpo higher than Iverson all-time.
And there were other all-timers who were traded by their teams, like Paul Pierce, James Harden, Gary Payton and George Gervin, but we rank Antetokounmpo higher than those players in league history.
Note: Hakeem Olajuwon would have gotten consideration here, of course, but his situation was more of a free-agent decision sign-and-trade. The rest of these players were actually traded.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Giannis Antetokounmpo arguably biggest team legend ever traded away
Continue reading...
