The Warriors’ sixth straight win on Thursday night came with a little extra sting for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Golden State knocked off the Heat, and in doing so beat the team Giannis chose after his situation with the Milwaukee Bucks stopped working. The Warriors had been in the mix for him for a while and made their interest obvious, but by the end of the chase they were no longer viewed as a real landing spot.
That may have been less about Golden State’s interest and more about how the Bucks saw the market. Milwaukee apparently didn’t believe the Warriors could build a strong enough trade package. Still, if Antetokounmpo had made it clear he wanted the Warriors, a deal probably could have been worked out.
Instead, he’s in Miami, and the Heat are 3-6 to start the season. It’s early, and there’s plenty of time for that to change, but Thursday’s result had to make Golden State look awfully appealing in hindsight.
At the same time, the Warriors might be better off for missing out.
If Giannis had ended up in Golden State, the roster would look very different. Yaxel Lendeborg likely wouldn’t be there, since the Warriors would have had to move their first-round pick. Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler and even Brandin Podziemski also would have been in play in a deal that would have needed salary to match.
And that would have changed the whole feel of the season. Giannis in Golden State would have brought immediate championship pressure for 2026-27. Instead, the Warriors have started without that weight hanging over them, and they’ve looked like a team comfortable living game to game.
That’s part of why this run has worked. They came in with no expectations, and they’ve played like it. Adding Antetokounmpo would have blown that up completely.
So while Giannis may be wondering if he should have picked the Warriors, Golden State seems just fine with how it all turned out.
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