Stephen A. Smith: Giannis Will Leave the Bucks if They Don't Make the Finals, Also That Might Not Be True

The MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference is taking place in Boston today and tomorrow. During a Friday morning panel, Jackie MacMullan asked Stephen A. Smith if players wanted to stay in small markets, using Giannis Antetokounmpo's impending decision as an example. It was your typical math-heavy question that the MIT conference is known for and Stephen A. Smith responded with the most factual fact possible, mined from what must have been weeks of number-crunching.

“Do players want to stay in small markets?” the great Jackie MacMullan asks the panel. She says litmus test is Giannis this summer.
Stephen A: “I’m told if he doesn’t get to the Finals, he’s leaving. I don’t know if that’s true or not.” #ssac2020
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) March 6, 2020

You heard it there first. If the Milwaukee Bucks don't make the NBA Finals, Giannis is leaving. That might not be true, but somebody said it. Hashtag: ANALYTICS.

Now is a great time to also point out that Giannis will not be a free agent this summer. So if that thing that may or may not be true is true, he will have to ask for a trade or suffer through another season on the best team in the Eastern Conference where he might make or win the Finals and then he might or might not leave.

This is why you get the sharpest minds in sports analytics together once a year. Where else could you hear wild speculation about Giannis Antetokounmpo's intentions?