Here's A Scary Thought: The Celtics Are "Possible Suitors" For Giannis Antetokounmpo
Apr 9, 2026
In the days leading up to the playoffs, analysts are predicting that the Boston Celtics will go all the way to the NBA Finals, perhaps even win it all. This is a team, in other words, that’s locked and loaded with talent that can give the defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder a run for their money.
What could possibly raise the Celtics’ ceiling? Perhaps a 6-foot-11, MVP-caliber walking double-double machine who’s chomping at the bit to get back to title contention.
The thought of Giannis Antetokounmpo joining a powerhouse Celtics squad is absurd at this point. Scary, even. But, as per Sam Amick of The Athletic, this is a distinct possibility that NBA insiders are discussing (or, indeed, bracing themselves for).
“Even the Celtics, who have the ‘Two Jays’ back now and look fully capable of winning it all, are known to have interest and are discussed in league circles as possible suitors,” Amick wrote on Wednesday.
After Antetokounmpo won his first-ever championship in 2021, the next Eastern Conference team to conquer the NBA’s mountaintop was the Celtics three years afterwards. For years, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had heard naysayers casting doubt on their chemistry and ceiling, but there they were in 2024, thriving alongside each other to dominate Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks.
A trifecta of Antetokounmpo, Tatum, and Brown would be a powerhouse not seen in the NBA since Kevin Durant joined the Splash Brothers in Golden State. Of course, assembling this team will come at a hefty price. Next season, the Greek Freak is set to make $58.4 million under his current three-year deal, and the Celtics will have to get creative to come up with a package that matches Antetokounmpo’s salary.
Would such a package include either Tatum or Brown? Bucks GM Jon Horst will likely ask for one of Boston’s pillars in return, along with a key rotation player or two. (Derrick White? Payton Pritchard?)
With the relationship between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks organization declining week by week, it’s only a matter of time before Horst pulls the trigger. Will he follow in the footsteps of former Mavs GM Nico Harrison and facilitate a trade that will shake the NBA to its core?
