Giannis gives a potential answer on his future on a YouTube live stream

The two-time League MVP spent 3+ hours with the popular YouTube streamer IShowSpeed

The NBA offseason has been a whirlwind for the Milwaukee Bucks. From dealing with Giannis trade rumors since before the NBA Draft Lottery, to getting rid of Damian Lillard to acquire Myles Turner from the Indiana Pacers in one morning, and re-signing almost all of their key free agents except for Brook Lopez. Yet, this entire time, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been living his best life in Greece all summer long, bringing some of the young guys to work out with him, including Andre Jackson Jr., Tyler Smith, and the recently cut Chris Livingston. Yet, that isn’t the only thing Giannis has been doing, as today, for over three hours, he went on a YouTube live stream with popular streamer IShowSpeed:

Amidst playing basketball on the court Giannis first dunked on, viewing the ruins of ancient Greece, and sharing a meal together, Speed asked the question that all of us have wanted to ask Giannis since the season ended: are you staying in Milwaukee? The Greek Freak responded with, “Probably. We’ll see. I love Milwaukee.” While the “we’ll see” portion was a little nerve-racking, overall it seems to point to Giannis having little desire to leave the city he’s known for the last 12 years. There was one last message that Giannis delivered that makes it seem like he’ll be in a Bucks uniform come October. After the two departed for the day after visiting the ruins, Speed FaceTimed Giannis while driving elsewhere in Greece, and Giannis told him to come to one of his games in Milwaukee:

ESPN reacts to the Live Stream

If there’s something online of relevance, you know ESPN and their band of commentators will surely give reasonable takes on what was said. Of course, they did not do that, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst gave his take on in an appearance on Get Up, where after initially saying he won’t analyze something Giannis said beachside in Greece, does just that:

“The thing about it is that he didn’t give a difinitive answer… but what I will say is that the ‘we’ll see’ that is essentially what five to six NBA teams are banking on. I know it sounds trivial but for years Giannis was completley locked in, him saying we’ll see backs up what Shams [Charania] has been saying this entire summer which is that he might be more open minded than he was in the past and I would say the same thing. Probably Milwaukee, but we’ll see and now I can quote Giannis on that, thank you very much.”

I burst out laughing when I realized the contradiction of Windhorst saying that he won’t analyze what Giannis said seaside in Greece, but then spends the next minute doing so. The entire time, he focuses on exactly one-third of what Giannis says and drives home the idea that Giannis is open-minded about leaving. Listen, it would be one thing if Giannis said, “I don’t know” or “I’m weighing my options.” I would understand the the analysis from Windy, but the fact that the “we’ll see” is sandwiched in between “probably” and “I love Milwaukee” makes the whole thing mute. It’s a laughable piece of analysis, and he’s seemingly ignoring the other two parts to that answer.

If you watch the video, Windhorst seems so proud that now he can use that part of the answer against Giannis or use it as evidence later on if Giannis does decide to leave Milwaukee. It just seems so underhanded to be happy about using that bit of a quote against someone to prove a point in this context. It’s the tone of voice that he uses that is very off-putting. In this line of work, of course, we want to hold people to what they say and anything they say we can use in our reporting, but the way Windy seems to be going about it is like he wants Giannis to leave so he can be right. A very self-centered and self-interested way to look at this situation that makes my skin crawl.

What do you think about all of this news Giannis made overseas? What do you think about ESPN’s coverage of this interview and the way Windhorst has gone about it? Let us know in the comments below.