Giannis Antetokounmpo secured another major payday by signing a three-year, $186 million extension with the Milwaukee Bucks. While Brian Windhorst considered the timing of the MVP’s extension, Stephen A. Smith thought anyone would be crazy to pass up that money.
On Tuesday’s First Take, Windhorst called the Giannis signing “questionable” and labeled it a “gift” to Milwaukee. He reasoned that Antetokounmpo could have waited another year to assess the new situation alongside Damian Lillard
“So Giannis gave up a marginal amount of leverage to lock in some financial security and set up his contract for the rest of his career,” Windhorst said. “Absolutely not something that needed to happen for the Bucks, so a huge win for them locking him down. And a vote of confidence for this team going into this regular season.”
As he’s obligated to do, Smith disagreed with his colleague.
“When they told me they were going to ask me this question, I have to confess to you that I said for the first time, ‘I think that Brian Windhorst needs to be drug tested,'” Smith said. “The reason why I came to that conclusion, Windy, is because all I could see was three years, $186 million. You divide that by three and it comes up to $62 million a year. What the hell you mean it’s questionable? There’s no questionable decision about $62 million a year.”
.@WindhorstESPN says Giannis’ contract extension was a “questionable” move.@stephenasmith disagrees 👀 pic.twitter.com/hb2f5Sk76v
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 24, 2023
When Windhorst asked if he was worried about Giannis landing a lucrative contract, Smith pointed to the unknowns that can affect anyone.
“You never know. Injuries, anything could happen,” Smith said. “Life is life. Tomorrow ain’t guaranteed, baby.”
To Windhorst’s point, the Greek Freak’s preexisting supermax deal wasn’t set to expire until after the 2024-25 season. Neither he nor the Bucks needed to negotiate a new deal with too much urgency before tipping off the 2023-24 campaign.
But in Smith’s defense, $62 million is admittedly a lot of money to turn down. It gives Antetokounmpo the highest average annual value in any of the four major U.S. team sports.
The 28-year-old locked down generational wealth ahead of Milwaukee’s season-opener against the Philadelphia 76ers this Thursday.