Here & Now

Shawn Johnson:
Thirteen years ago, the Milwaukee Bucks selected the youngest player in that year’s NBA draft.

Giannis Antetokounmpo:
I want to be a NBA — NBA player.

Shawn Johnson:
Giannis Antetokounmpo. A lanky 18-year-old from Greece, was seen as a roll of the dice by a struggling small market franchise. But Giannis grew up. He put the Bucks on his shoulders. He won fans’ hearts, and he made Milwaukee a champion. That love affair is over now after the Bucks dealt Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. Here to discuss what Giannis meant to the city and where things went wrong is Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist James Causey. James, welcome.

James Causey:
Hey, thanks for having me.

Shawn Johnson:
So I suppose it’s an emotional time any time that a star player like Giannis gets dealt for the fans. But it just seems to me like he had such an attachment to the city of Milwaukee. How would you characterize it and, you know, what did he mean to the city?

James Causey:
Well, I like to put it to you this way. Giannis was our son. I mean he came to us as a young man, very, very young. And the city wrapped his arms around him and he embraced us. He was our unicorn. He was a guy who got us a championship. He was a guy who — a funny story about him. One time he was trying to get to the arena and he got lost, and somebody saw him on the side of the road and picked him up and dropped him off. That’s who Giannis is and that’s who he was to us. So losing Giannis is like losing a big part of our city. He played for us for 13 years. One of the longest reigns in the NBA. And he’s going to be dearly missed. But it was time for him to pursue other endeavors.

Shawn Johnson:
He’s sort of a thoughtful guy too, is he not? The way he talks about success being a journey and of living in the moment?

James Causey:
Oh yeah, of course. And you know, he was more than just a basketball player. He also organized a diaper drive that was critical for young moms who needed diapers for their babies. Him and his wife were very — sponsored that. He was seen a lot in the community. He was, like I said, he was our son. And we embraced him and we loved on him. And, you know, he got us our championship, our first championship in 50 years. So that’s something that can never be erased.

Shawn Johnson:
Yeah. I mean, it strikes me that his story is such a perfect storm. He got so much better, so fast. And, you know, then this — Milwaukee downtown was rebuilt. You had this state-of-the-art arena, the house that Giannis built. You won the championship. It just seemed like everything was going so great. So why did it fall apart?

James Causey:
Well, it fell apart because honestly, I believe it was a lot of bad moves by the Bucks trying to keep the team above water. That didn’t work. You know, the shuffling of coaches that just didn’t work. And what we’re hearing now is like not keeping Giannis in the loop. And he was a person who honestly wanted to be kept inside the loop. He wanted to know what was going on going on. What was the team’s direction moving forward? And it seemed like he was not privy to that type of information. And for a young man who gave his heart and soul to the team and to the city, I wish that it could have been better and that communication should have been better. And we know one thing, he always wanted to win, and I think the Bucks tried to satisfy that. But at the same time, I think he should have been privy of the inside dealings that they were trying to do to make sure that that happened.

Shawn Johnson:
You know, it’s tempting for me to look at the Bucks and Giannis and think it’s only been a few years since they were on top of the world. Why can’t they just kind of force it? Try a little harder fix this thing.

James Causey:
Well, that’s the NBA. That’s sports actually. You know you think you’re part of a dynasty. And quickly things could change. But it was a lot of things that happened. Middleton got hurt. You know, the team seemed like it got old overnight. The league changed to a three-point shooting team and not so much downhill that made Giannis famous. You know, charging to the basket. So the league’s really adapted and changed. And I don’t think the Bucks were able to keep up with those changes in how the league changed so quickly.

Shawn Johnson:
So Giannis is going to come back to Milwaukee this next season. And that famous last name is going to be on another team’s jersey. How do you think he’s going to be received.

James Causey:
Well he’s going to receive one of the loudest ovations ever. I — and one thing that I could say, Giannis never wanted to be the bad guy in this situation. He never came out and we didn’t hear him demand a trade even though, you know, some rumblings within the Bucks organization that he wanted out. But he never made that public. So I have to give him credit for that. I really think he wanted it to work here, but he’s going to be — he’s going to receive probably the loudest ovation ever for this city. So I look forward to it. And it’s going to be the hottest ticket in town.

Shawn Johnson:
All right. James, we’ll leave it there. Thank you so much for joining us.

James Causey:
Thank you for having me.