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New York, December 17: Giannis Antetokounmpo joked that he will retire in five years if he can win an NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Antetokounmpo pledged his future to the Bucks with a supermax five-year contract extension – reportedly worth $228million – following speculation over his future entering the final year of his previous deal.
The two-time reigning NBA MVP, who has called Milwaukee home since he was drafted 15th in 2013, is pursuing the Bucks' first championship since 1971.
Milwaukee lost in last season's Eastern Conference semi-finals at Walt Disney World Resort, having reached the Conference Finals in 2018-19.
"I just want to have kids, being able to raise my kids and win a championship," Antetokounmpo told reporters on Wednesday, a day after his blockbuster deal was announced.
"After that, my life's complete. I can retire in five years. Nah, I'm joking."
"I want to be here. I want to help my teammates. I want to help this organization win a championship." pic.twitter.com/ZHgEiTvI8p
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 17, 2020
"I think we can get better. I believe we can be better. We've got better," Antetokounmpo said. "We have a great team. We have a great culture. I know that I'm working toward that goal. The front office is working toward that goal, so I'm good. I'm happy. I think everybody's on the same page.
"At the end of the day, you've got to look at the past; we've gotten better every single year. In my opinion, the last two years were realistically the two years where we fight for a championship. The years before that, there wasn't a championship years so it's not going to be easy."
Antetokounmpo was crowned the NBA's MVP for the second straight year after leading the Bucks to the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the league's best record (56-17) before losing in the semis in Orlando, Florida.
The "Greek Freak" averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game during the regular season.
Antetokounmpo was the only player that ranked in the top five in scoring and rebounding in 2019-20 among qualifying players. The last player to do it on the team with the most wins in the NBA that season was Los Angeles Lakers great Shaquille O'Neal in 1999-00.
Of all players to rank in the top five of both points per game and rebounds per game, Antetokounmpo was doing it averaging the fewest minutes per game (30.4). For context, Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid ranked in the top five last season with 33.7 minutes per game.
"The way that this city has supported me and my family has been amazing since day one, since the day I walked in the Cousins Center gym and Bradley Center, also. It's been amazing. I was 18, I'm 26 right now. All I know is Milwaukee," Antetokounmpo said.
"When I came here, all I knew is that this is a city that loves basketball, it's a city that ... We have more things to do now, but when I came here we had a lot of things to do so I could just focus on basketball and it's a place that I want to be. It's a place where I want to raise my kids and I feel good here. I feel that my family feels good here, so I'm good."
"I love Milwaukee." pic.twitter.com/Vh914HyoML
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 15, 2020
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in points per game, total rebounds per game and assists per game last season. He also did this last season and also in 2016-17. If not for team-mate Eric Bledsoe barely beating him out in assists per game in 2017-18, Antetokounmpo would have led Milwaukee in these categories for a fourth consecutive season.
There have been 15 instances in which a player has averaged 25.0-plus points per game, 10.0-plus rebounds per game and 5.0-plus assists per game in a season.
Antetokounmpo has two of these instances, in 2019-20 and last term. The 26-year-old joined Russell Westbrook, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson as the only players to average these numbers in multiple seasons.
Not since Abdul-Jabbar in 1972-73 (30.2ppg, 16.1rbg and 5.0apg) had a player enjoyed a season with 29.0-plus points per game, 13.0-plus rebounds per game and 5.0-plus assists per game.
Chamberlain achieved the feat twice in 1963-64 (36.9ppg, 22.3rbg and 5.0apg) and 1965-66 (33.5ppg, 24.6rbg and 5.2apg), while Elgin Baylor had averages of 34.8ppg, 19.8rbg and 5.1apg in 1960-61.
