Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Warriors, Giannis to Warriors, giannis trade
Getty
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors matches up against Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks at Chase Center on January 07, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
If the Golden State Warriors acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo by Thursday’s trade deadline, they’d reshape the current NBA landscape and rewrite history in more ways than one.
The idea of Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry linking up is akin to Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in the 1980s or Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon in the 1990s.
Three key stats to know:
Once-in-a-Lifetime Pairing
Key Stat: Only multi-MVP teammates since Magic & Kareem
If the Warriors pull off a Giannis trade, they’d join the Showtime Lakers as the only team ever to have two multi-time NBA MVPs on the same roster, with Antetokounmpo (2x MVP) and Curry (2x MVP) replicating a feat last seen with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6x MVP) and Magic Johnson (3x MVP) as teammates.
If you factor in the ABA, the early 1980s Philadelphia 76ers had a team of multi-time MVPs (Julius Irving, 1x MVP, 3x ABA MVP and Moses Malone, 3x MVP).
Sure, there have been many in their prime MVPs (or future MVPs) who’ve teamed up — Shaquille O’Neal & Kobe Bryant, Bob Cousy & Bill Russell, Abdul-Jabbar & Oscar Robertson, Kevin Durant & Curry, James Harden & Durant and David Robinson & Tim Duncan to name a few — but none of those pairings featured multiple MVPs.
A pairing of Curry and Giannis would be divine, even as the latter turns 38 next month.
Super Duo of Epic Proportions
Key Stat: Fourth “Double MVP” Super Duo
The pairing of Antetokounmpo and Curry would mark just the fourth instance of players who’ve won both the MVP and Finals MVP teaming up (even if those awards were won at a later stage in their careers).
The only other such duos are Magic Johnson & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (multi-time MVPs & FMVPs), Shaquille O’Neal (1x MVP, 3xFMVP) & Kobe Bryant (1x MVP, 2x FMVP) and Stephen Curry (2xMVP, 1x FMVP) & Kevin Durant (1x MVP, 2x FMVP).
This feat eluded Miami Heat’s LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, as the latter won a Finals MVP, but never a regular-season MVP. Ditto with Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, as the latter didn’t win a Finals MVP after his 1964 MVP season.
No Precedent for Giannis Trade
Key Stat: First multi-MVP traded midseason
If a Giannis trade goes down by Thursday, it’d mark the first instance of a multi-time NBA MVP getting traded midseason. This includes the bombshell Wilt Chamberlain trade in Jan. 1965, when the San Francisco Warriors traded “the Big Dipper” to the Philadelphia 76ers during a 17-game losing streak.
Although Chamberlain went on to win a hat-trick of MVPs with the Sixers in 1966, 1967 and 1968, he was a 1-time MVP when traded to his hometown franchise. As such, a Giannis trade would truly be unprecedented. (Side note: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also a 1-time MVP when the Bucks traded him to the Lakers in an offseason move.)
The Bucks are reportedly still weighing whether to pull the trigger on a Giannis trade by the NBA trade deadline or during the offseason. If a trade occurs by Thursday, the Warriors are reportedly the favorites to make it happen.