SALT LAKE CITY — As speculation around Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks again swirls in advance of the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline, Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski has a different perspective than most. That’s because the 22-year-old grew up in Milwaukee and was a fan of Antetokounmpo as he grew into an MVP and NBA champion.
Like so many other Milwaukee natives, Podziemski said it would be “different” to see Antetokounmpo in another jersey if he is traded.
“He’s one of those guys, kind of like a Steph (Curry), or Dirk (Nowitzki), or Tim Duncan,” Podziemski said Wednesday in advance of the Warriors’ game against the Utah Jazz. “Guys that you visualize being with one franchise for their whole career. It would definitely be different, and pretty awkward, I would say, for a lot of people.”
Podziemski described what it was like to see how Milwaukee has changed during Antetokounmpo’s tenure. Since being selected with the No. 15 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Antetokounmpo’s play helped transform the city around him and was a huge reason why the Bucks were able to move into the new Fiserv Forum in 2018.
“My dad works downtown right next to the arena,” Podziemski said. “Before him, it was just the school he works at, and then the arena, a couple hotels and that was pretty much it. Since Giannis has gotten there, they’ve built a bunch of restaurants, kind of like the Thrive City they’ve built around Chase Center, they built that around Fiserv. It’s been a lot of development throughout the whole city, which has been cool to see.”
When the Warriors visited Milwaukee during his rookie season, Podziemski went up to Antetokounmpo to offer him gratitude for how much he has done for the community.
“It’s just a respect that I have for what he’s done for not only the game of basketball, not only for Europeans, but also what he’s done for the city that I grew up in,” he said.
The Warriors have long been mentioned as a potential suitor for Antetokounmpo, but it remains to be seen if the Bucks are interested.
As Podziemski watches the situation from a distance, he says he isn’t paying attention to the trade rumors that circulate every day on social media. He just knows that it will be a strange scene if Antetokounmpo suits up in any other jersey besides a Milwaukee one.
“I just focus on games we have leading up to it,” Podziemski said of the trade deadline. “And whatever happens, happens.”
