Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t speak a whole lot about the Milwaukee Bucks when he met the media in Miami on July 16, but he did have warm things to say about his former home in his first press conference since the trade that sent him south to the Heat.
That included discussion about his decision to change his jersey number from his customary 34 in Milwaukee to No. 7 with the Heat.
Antetokounmpo said he first chose 34 because his mother was born in 1963 and his father in 1964, so he merged the numbers together. Adding 3 and 4 together gave him his new number.
“I felt like 34 holds so much weight and has so much history,” Antetokounmpo said. “Out of respect to the organization that drafted me and that I played for 13 years, I decided to leave that number there and start a new chapter. Hopefully I can leave my mark here in Miami and make No. 7 as legendary as No. 34. But it’s almost like having closure for me, mentally and emotionally, just to have a closure from that number, because it meant a lot to me.
“No. 7 looks good, it’s fresh, it’s clean. I saw some kids running in the street (wearing) it. I’m excited to create more moments with that number.”
Antetokounmpo spoke to reporters alongside coach Erik Spoelstra and Heat president Pat Riley, who said the franchise almost had a deal for Antetokounmpo in February at the league’s trading deadline, but it didn’t come to fruition after coming “down to the midnight hour.”
“We just think he shares so many of the perspectives on how we want to compete, how we approach competition,” Spoelstra said. “He is fierce. We’ve had a lot of battles with him, and out of that has been a lot of respect. Always respected how he competes. He’s a force of will, a force of nature, has an absolute will to win on any given day.”
The feeling was mutual; Antetokounmpo said buzz around the league included high marks for the Heat organization.
Antetokounmpo did briefly revisit his final year with the Bucks, surrounded by rumors of imminent departure.
“I feel like there was so much back and forth throughout the season … maybe I should have come out and shut it out immediately, which I tried many times,” he said. “The people I worked with, I think the conversation was always clear and we were always on the same page.
“After all this took place, I feel like they’re in a good place. I’m in a good place. I have so much respect for them. I hope they have respect for me and for the things that I’ve done within that city.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here’s what Giannis Antetokounmpo said in Miami Heat introduction
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
