How Giannis Antetokounmpo Extension Impacts Celtics’ Future

The Boston Celtics are in prime position to compete as the top team in the Eastern Conference for years to come, though they are certainly not alone.

The Milwaukee Bucks made another move to solidify their standing in the conference moving forward, extending franchise star Giannis Antetokounmpo for three years and $185 million on Monday, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has agreed on a three-year, $186 million contract extension, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/CmSj3I2Puk

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 23, 2023

Antetokounmpo himself seemed pretty excited to stay with the Bucks in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter.

After previous rumors that Antetokounmpo may look to play elsewhere in the future, the superstar is staying in Milwaukee. The recent addition of another All-Star in dynamic guard Damian Lillard certainly helped sell the current competitive chances for the Bucks that surely went into the extension negotiations.

The Eastern Conference as a whole still has plenty of talent. Joel Embiid can still carry the Philadelphia 76ers. The Miami Heat consistently walk into deep playoff runs under Erik Spoelstra. The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets have shown improvement in recent years.

In reality, the Celtics and the Bucks are the call of the East and should clash for the right to go to the NBA Finals once again this year. With Antetokounmpo remaining with the Bucks, their championship window stays open adjacent to Boston.

Antetokounmpo is one of the most dominant players in the sport with size and increasing development in terms of diversifying his scoring abilities.

The two-time MVP already has one ring with the Bucks and maintains a drive to win. At the age of 28, Antetokounmpo is still just getting started after averaging over 30 points per game for the first time in his career last season.

The Celtics have reached the Eastern Conference Finals in four of the last six seasons, clearly showing their prowess. At the same time, they avoided the Bucks last season and narrowly eliminated Milwaukee in 2022 when impact player Khris Middleton missed that series due to injury. Boston is yet to win a championship with its current core headlined by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The frustrating part is not winning during down times for Milwaukee, who won its title during the 2020-21 season.

The two teams have been incredibly well-matched, with the Celtics winning seven of the 13 matchups over the last four seasons, plus the thrilling seven-game conference semifinal series. Antetokounmpo has been right in the thick of it, averaging over 27 points per game against the Celtics during that stretch.

With the extension in place, the Celtics still have an open window to chase at least one championship. They will, however, have a major rival with a major star waiting in their way each season.

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The Celtics try to start another title run on the right foot against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.