How a Giannis Antetokounmpo pairing with Stephen Curry would break basketball

The one trade that would do right by Giannis would be one of those moves that breaks basketball.

In 1974, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar informed the Milwaukee Bucks that he would like to be traded as he wanted to live and work in a bigger city like Los Angeles or New York; ultimately, these are the death sentence nightmare words a small market team never wants to here.

Still, the Bucks agreed to Abdul-Jabaar's wishes and shipped him to Los Angeles, where Kareem went on to play with the next face of the league in Magic Johnson; the second half of Kareem's career was written, having his talents maximized by a superstar peer who could help him age gracefully and continue to add to his all-time great resume.

There are many parallels to what Giannis and Kareem have accomplished in Milwaukee, both delivering a title to Cream City as players so larger than life they're recognizable by their first name.

"Everyone else is gonna have to try to beat a strong Golden State offer [for Giannis] if it comes."@WindhorstESPN explains why the Warriors would be a major player if Giannis ever becomes available 👀 pic.twitter.com/jgRPEt3iP1
— ESPN (@espn) January 28, 2026

Pairing Steph and Giannis would break basketball

Giannis drives on Steph — Dec 25, 2020; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) dribbles the ball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during a NBA game at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Nick Monroe/Handout Photo-Imagn Images | Handout Photo-Imagn Images

While other teams can almost definitely put together better overall trade packages from an aspect of blue-chip prospects to more valuable first-round picks, the one deal that would do right by Giannis would be pairing him with Steph Curry in Golden State to set up both superstars for the back nine.

Milwaukee could probably find better than the best Golden State can offer: the intriguing 3&D prospect in Moses Moody, the dynamic idea of Jonathan Kuminga, an injured Jimmy Butler to help the Bucks tank in a loaded draft class, and those four 1st round picks all add up to technically be enough to get the deal done while still leaving the Warriors enough to have a fighting chance.

Should the Bucks or Bucks fans want to help the Warriors acquire Giannis? Not really, obviously it's the opposite of doing all you can to compete, to hold onto your homegrown G.O.A.T. for dear life.

But at a certain point, the writing is one the wall; if the war is lost, maybe you do right by your leader with a respectful signoff instead of sending him out one more time into battle to certain death.

The Warriors are ready to offer a “whole lot” for Giannis Antetokounmpo and consider Steph Curry the only untouchable player on the roster, per @MontePooleNBCS

“According to several sources contacted this week, the Warriors are willing to meet that criteria. They’re ready give… pic.twitter.com/64X1fH7Bnh
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 30, 2026

If Giannis has asked to be moved to a bigger city or a situation with a better chance to contend through the rest of his career, pairing Antetokoumnpo's destructive downhill force with Steph Curry's immeasurable shooting gravity would become the most dynamic duo in basketball overnight, and one of the most complementary duos the sport has ever seen.

The Warriors would be able to hold down a frontcourt of Draymond Green, Al Horford, Quinten Post to anchor the defense down low, with Brandon Podziemski, De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, Seth Curry, Pat Spencer, Gary Payton filling out the perimeter to build out the rotation.

Golden State should completely offer absolutely anything and everything under the sun not named *Steph Curry if it means pairing The Greek Freak with The Baby-Faced Assassin, aka Chef Curry.

Golden State would have the best duo in basketball starting tomorrow for the foreseeable future; while one superstar could fall off soon and both will eventually to father time, these two forces of basketball gravity could bend time long enough to extend both of their primes longer than expected.

Combining two faces of the league who complement each other's game to create a legendary sum of its parts tends to work out in the sports of basketball; just as Magic and Kareem.