Kostas Antetokounmpo back in the NBA, signs two-way deal with Chicago Bulls
Kostas Antetokounmpo smiled as he sat in front of his temporary locker in the Chicago Bulls locker room in the United Center on Tuesday night. He didn’t know, or at least he didn’t want to say if he did, what might be next for him in his basketball journey.
On Friday, he signed a two-way deal with Chicago and its G League affiliate the Windy City Bulls.
A two-way player can play a maximum of 50 NBA games with the team they sign with.
“Wherever the road takes me, I’m just ready to get better,” he said. “I’m ready to work.”
The deal brings the 24-year-old Dominican High School alumnus back to the NBA and the United States for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign when he appeared in 15 games for the Los Angeles Lakers. Originally drafted at No. 60 by the Philadelphia 76ers out of the University of Dayton in 2018, Antetokounmpo was immediately traded to Dallas.
He appeared in two games for the Mavericks that season. Signed to a two-way deal by the Lakers in 2019-20, he earned a championship ring that season. He also played against older brothers Thanasis and Giannis when the Bucks played the Lakers at Crypto.com arena on March 31, 2020.
Last year, Kostas Antetokounmpo played in Europe for ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne in France. They won the Pro A championship, besting Monaco in five games. In 47 total games, Antetokounmpo averaged 5.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in just over 12 minutes per game.
“Confidence wise, it helps you a lot,” he told the Journal Sentinel. “Just getting experience, being able to make some mistakes so you can learn.”
He then joined Thanasis and Giannis on the Greek national team this summer for World Cup qualifying and the EuroBasket tournament. Youngest brother Alex was part of the national team training camp roster as well.
“It was an amazing experience, an amazing moment that I definitely will cherish the rest of my life,” he said of being able to play with his brothers. “Not a lot of people get to say they played on the national team with three of their brothers. For sure, I was really happy about that.”
Once tournament play began, Kostas was 7-for-9 from the field for 16 points in 27 minutes of action in two World Cup games, but he was injured for most of the EuroBasket tournament (13 minutes in two games).
“Definitely learned a lot about myself defensively,” he said. “I learned that I’m a good switch guy as a big, being able to guard multiple positions. Just energy-wise, I get my energy from defense and offensively it just comes together.”
Kostas Antetokounmpo played four minutes and had four rebounds while scoring two points in Chicago's 127-104 preseason victory over the Bucks last Tuesday.
He won a state title at Dominican High School and was a first-team all-state selection his senior year.
“When I look back on Milwaukee it kind of feels like part of home, you know?” he said.
He pounded his chest over his heart.
“So, definitely have a spot in my heart in Milwaukee for sure.”
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kostas Antetokounmpo signs two-way deal with Chicago Bulls
