Boston Celtics

Boston isn’t considered the favorite to land Antetokounmpo this offseason, but the Bucks superstar clearly likes Boston.

By Colin McCarthy

May 29, 2026

2 minutes to read

As trade rumors continue to swirl regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks superstar had some praise to share for Celtics fans and the TD Garden.

Boston is considered a contender to land Antetokounmpo, though the Miami Heat appear to have an edge to land him. But in a recent livestream appearance, Antetokounmpo expressed how he felt about Celtics fans and the passion they bring to games he’s been a part of.

“Boston and Philly,” Antetokounmpo said of the craziest places to play in. “In the playoffs, everybody goes crazy. But in a regular [season] game, Boston is so passionate.”

This isn’t the first time Antetokounmpo has gone out of his way to praise Boston, either. Late in the regular season, unprompted, he showed love for Joe Mazzulla and the job he did coaching Boston through its challenging season in a way very few expected.

Mazzulla went on to win the NBA’s Coach of the Year award for that performance, so Antetokounmpo’s admiration was certainly well-placed.

New reports and speculation arise almost daily regarding Antetokounmpo. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst voiced his uncertainty that Boston would actually land Antetokounmpo this offseason.

However, the Celtics and Miami Heat remain the two teams with the most links to the star forward, as they both fit Antetokounmpo’s reported wishes to stay in the East and contend for a title.

Speculation also remains on whether Jaylen Brown will be the primary piece Boston moves to land Antetokounmpo, and if there could potentially be a three-team deal that ships Brown elsewhere altogether as part of the potential blockbuster move.

Questions still linger on whether Antetokounmpo would actually be a good fit with Jayson Tatum on the Celtics as well, given the spacing they’ll both require and the fact that Antetokounmpo is a poor shooter. However, Brad Stevens openly admitted at his end-of-year presser that he’d like to be shooting less in general.

Ultimately, there will be plenty of speculation about Antetokounmpo until he’s traded, if he’s even traded at all. But Boston is a part of that speculation, which will make for an exciting offseason as the team looks to return to the NBA Championship.