Just a few months ago, the NBA rumor mill was buzzing with speculation that Toronto might make a big splash over the summer by trading for a 'big fish', with names like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant at the forefront. As it turned out, those rumors were mostly just smoke and mirrors. Giannis seems set to stay in Milwaukee for the foreseeable future, and Durant ended up being traded to the Houston Rockets instead.
I think it’s safe to say that the idea of matching up Giannis Antetokounmpo with the Toronto Raptors has always felt like a bit of a longshot dream for many Raptors fans. Speaking for myself, Giannis has been one of my favorite non-Raptors players for a long time. The thought of him in Toronto —especially with our city’s large Greek community and the chance to have a bonafide superstar leading the team — seems like a positive pairing that could churn out successful results.
And speaking of Antetokounmpo finding his right fit, two-time NBA champion Mario Chalmers of Miami Heat fame recently chatted with NBA analyst Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson. During that conversation, Chalmers boldly stated that Giannis' best fit is actually with Toronto, not Miami —another destination that many people have also been suggesting.
Mario Chalmers believes Raptors are ideal fit for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Here's an excerpt from the interview (full YouTube link here), where Chalmers said:
"I don't know. I just don't see Giannis [Antetokounmpo] fitting, I won't say 'Heat Culture', but the Heat team. You gotta put a lot of shooters around him, on that team, which I think is doable, but I just don't see him going. "Mario Chalmers, Sep 15, 2025
Robinson would directly ask, "Do you think Toronto was a better fit?" to which Chalmers replied:
"Yeah, definitely. Definitely. More active, more up and down team. They got a bunch of young, hungry guys that like to run and get up and down, so that's Giannis' game. "Mario Chalmers
I think it’s pretty noteworthy when you have a guy — Mario Chalmers, just to be clear, he's not some legendary NBA star by any means — but he’s definitely connected to Heat history. And to outright say he doesn’t want to see a superstar like Giannis in Miami really highlights his honest feelings about Toronto and the “Greek Freak” being an appealing pairing.
If Toronto can retool much of its roster without completely dismantling everything in a Giannis trade, it could turn into a really exciting team to watch — just like Chalmers suggests. But I find it hard to imagine a scenario where they wouldn’t have to include at least one, maybe two or even three, key Raptors pieces in such a deal.
The Heat might be in a spot where, as a destination, perhaps it’s more attractive and has a bit more star pull, but Toronto could still be right there on the same level, capable of convincing Giannis to leave Milwaukee if the opportunity comes up. That said, it’s worth noting that Toronto’s main leverage in any potential Giannis trade talks used to be their former president of basketball ops, Masai Ujiri, who left the franchise earlier this summer.
Ujiri's departure will probably make things a bit more complicated if these trade rumors come back around, but hey, stranger things have happened.