Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has become a shareholder in Kalshi, a major prediction market with a wide array of sports trading opportunities.
Antetokounmpo announced the partnership Friday.
“The internet is full of opinions. I decided it was time to make some of my own,” Antetokounmpo posted on social media. “Today, I’m joining Kalshi as a shareholder.”
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Kalshi said Antetokounmpo is the first basketball star to join the company as a shareholder. The partnership includes help with live events and marketing.
“Giannis is a legend,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said in a release. “He’s exactly the type of long-term partner we want to align our growing brand with, and we couldn’t be happier he’s on board.”
Antetokounmpo was the subject of widespread rumors ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. But the Bucks decided to keep the two-time MVP.
In the days leading up to the deadline, Kalshi had several posts on X highlighting its event contracts on Antetokounmpo’s trade market and the fluctuating odds connected to the teams believed to be in the mix for his services. An estimated $23 million in contracts were bought on Antetokounmpo’s future before the trade deadline.
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According to Kalshi’s release, Antetokounmpo will be forbidden from trading on markets related to the NBA. Messages were left Friday seeking further details from Kalshi and comment from the NBA.
“I love the Kalshi markets and have been checking them often recently,” Antetokounmpo said in the company’s release. “I like to win. It’s clear to me Kalshi is going to be a winner and I’m excited to be getting involved.”
Antetokounmpo, who hasn’t played since straining his right calf on Jan. 23, already had departed by the time the Bucks had their postgame locker room availability after their 105-99 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
The 31-year-old Antetokounmpo also is part of the ownership group for baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers, Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC, and now the Chelsea Football Club’s women’s team.
Prediction markets provide an opportunity to trade — or wager — on the result of future events. They rose to prominence in politics, but the array of typically yes-or-no questions includes everything from the weather to the Oscar for best picture.
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The markets are comprised of event contracts, with the prices connected to what traders are willing to pay, which theoretically indicates the perceived probability of an event occurring. The buy-in for each contract ranges from $0 to $1 each, reflecting a 0% to 100% chance of what traders think could happen.
When the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last month, an anonymous trader on Polymarket — another prediction market — made more than $400,000 after betting that Maduro would soon be out of office, raising suspicions of potential insider trading because of the timing of the wagers and the trader’s narrow activity.
