Working nearby, Samuel Thomann visits the massive Giannis Antetokounmpo mural downtown just about every day.
He paid it a visit the morning of Tuesday, June 23 on his way into work. But this would be unlike any other time before.
The previous night, Bucks ownership agreed to trade Giannis – the one Thomann calls “the best player of all time and the GOAT for the city” – to the Miami Heat.
“He’s done a lot for us and it’s tough to see him go,” Thomann said, getting choked up.
The deal also sends beloved Bobby Portis Jr., the unofficial mayor of Milwaukee, to Miami as well.
In return, the Bucks will receive the Heat’s 2026 first-round draft pick (No. 13), Greenfield native and 26-year-old guard Tyler Herro, 25-year-old forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., 22-year-old center Kel’El Ware, 20-year-old guard Kasparas Jakučionis, unprotected first-round draft picks in 2031 and 2033, a first-round pick swap in 2030 and a second-round pick in 2033.
The morning after the trade news broke, the Journal Sentinel posted up by the Giannis mural for a couple of hours. When we arrived shortly before 9 a.m., a Giannis jersey was already on display – a stop sign being used like a mannequin – with an empty Modelo bottle sitting at its foot. The commemorative “Sports Illustrated” issue from when the Bucks won the 2021 championship sat at the bottom of the mural with this note written on it: “Thanks for everything big fella! 34 forever – Milwaukee.”
“Waking up to the news almost feels worse than a heartbreak,” said Douglas Lelinski, born and raised a Bucks fan. “I honestly feel like the whole city is just very sad at the moment. Kind of, we just lost a neighbor to us.”
Fans like Lelinski trickled to the mural throughout the morning, paying their appreciation to someone they described to us as the “best Buck of all time,” “forever a legend,” a “Milwaukee icon” and a “hero.”
“He brought an NBA championship ring after 50 years,” Roberto Reyna, a Bucks fan since Day 1, said. “I get emotional. You know? He gave me a memory … And for now, I can only wish him the best.”
Reyna lauded Giannis’ humility as a person, and his intensity, passion and persistence as a player.
“If I had another kid – and I’m 58 – his name would’ve been Giannis,” Reyna said, laughing.
To Antonio Jones, a father and lifelong Bucks fan, Giannis was almost like one of his own. Jones, and the rest of Milwaukee, essentially got to watch Giannis grow up, from being drafted by the Bucks in 2013 as an 18-year-old to now being one of the game’s top 75 all-time players, a philanthropist, a husband and father of four.
“The talent is what drew us in, but who he was as a man and watching grow to become a man is probably more significant than anything,” Jones said.
“I hope people are spending today thinking about really great memories, memories we’ve never had before here,” said Quinton Klabon, who said he initially got into the Bucks via video games before moving to Milwaukee in 2013, “that we can support the players on the new team and, that someday, we can celebrate and applaud as a jersey goes up in the rafters.”
He shared some of those memories with us: Back in the “marketing days,” Giannis staying after a meet-and-greet was over to autograph a jersey and take a photo with Klabon. Giannis being “a really kind soul,” working with students at the school Klabon was formerly with. Randomly spotting Giannis around town. And the diaper drives Giannis and his wife, Mariah, would put on with the Milwaukee Diaper Mission through the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation.
“He embraced the city. And, Miami is going to be lucky to have Giannis and his whole family there to be involved with the community,” David Mehr said.
“You look at all other players or athletes from different sports and their impact on their cities, nothing touches what Giannis did to Milwaukee,” said lifelong Bucks fan Owen Balistrieri.
“I think he just embodies Milwaukee and what Milwaukee people represent and what they mean,” Charlotte Mehr, David’s daughter, said. “He did a great job at caring for this city and caring for the people in it. And, I think we all returned the favor to him too. And so, it’s definitely sad to see him go.”
Acknowledging recent rough times and hating that’s how Giannis will go out in Milwaukee, Vincent Chiesa said you “can’t take away what he did for Bucks organization and the city of Milwaukee as a whole.” He said Giannis really brought the Bucks back to life himself, along with Fiserv Forum.
“Giannis, 34, will be up in the rafters one day at Fiserv,” Chiesa said. “Best Buck of all time. No doubt about it.”
What fans think about the Giannis trade
“It’s definitely sad, but good to see him move on and, hopefully, it’s good for the team,” Balistrieri said.
Reyna called the trade “horrible” and wished the organization would have kept Giannis and got more players around him “to develop his game.”
“The Bucks have been my team, and always will be my No. 1 team. But now, Miami, you’ve got yourself a new fan,” Reyna said.
Once Giannis settles into Miami, Reyna plans to travel there to see a Heat game – and hopes it’s against the Bucks. With Giannis, and Bobby Portis, Reyna is already calling a Miami championship victory within the next two or three years.
“Miami Heat, you’re welcome,” Reyna said. “You just got yourself another ring in the future.”
While Jones felt “torn,” calling the trade bittersweet,” he said it was time.
“This is just the next chapter for him. And, just another chapter for the city of Milwaukee.”
While “sad to see this era end,” Chiesa is excited for what’s next.
Chiesa – who said he grew up with Herro – hopes the Bucks keep him for the foreseeable future and that the city can “get behind that and this new era of Bucks basketball.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks fans emotional about Giannis trade; ‘worse than a heartbreak’
Reporting by Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
