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.
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Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo smiles on the bench with Thanasis Antetokounmpo during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo watches from the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo blows a bubble on the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo sits on the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
“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.”
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.
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 and Major League Soccer's Nashville SC.
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.
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.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo smiles on the bench with Thanasis Antetokounmpo during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo watches from the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo blows a bubble on the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo sits on the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
NEW YORK (AP) — Jack Hughes held the ball in his hands, occasionally tossing his latest souvenir in the air.
Hughes had done “Saturday Night Live” and cherished the chance to chat with Lorne Michaels, then appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” as part of the victory lap for the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning men’s and women’s hockey teams. It only got better Friday when Hughes and women's goaltender Aerin Frankel threw out ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium before the New York Yankees' home opener against the Miami Marlins.
“I knew a lot of things were coming, but this was the one thing I was always like wishing-slash-hoping for,” Hughes said. "Just so much fun. For both of us, it’s unreal."
Hughes scored in overtime in the men's final at the Milan Cortina Games, a few days after Frankel backstopped the women's team to also beating Canada for gold. It's the first time the U.S. has won double gold in the sport at the Olympics, and the sled hockey team made it a clean sweep at the Paralympics.
Frankel said her life hasn't changed much since other than seeing the impact the physical gold medal has on people who had never seen one.
“It’s cool to see how special that is for them,” said Frankel, who plays for the PHWL's Boston Fleet. “We’ve been super busy jumping back into pro seasons and stuff and making time for really cool opportunities like this.”
Frankel is from Westchester County and grew up in a family of Yankees fans. Hughes has become one over the seven years he has been in the area as the face of the franchise for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
Hughes played some baseball growing up, but needed to get his right throwing arm warmed up.
“We played in Dallas last week and my trainer ‘Frosty’ (Chris Scoppetto) brought gloves and I threw like 50 pitches right before morning skate,” Hughes said. “My shoulder was so sore, so I was like, ‘We’ve got to cool it.'”
Hughes' shoulder was fine. He scored twice that night against the Stars and had a five-point game Thursday night on the eve of his big baseball day.
Less than 24 hours after making 22 saves in a 3-0 shutout win over Winnipeg and U.S. Olympic starter Connor Hellebuyck, Oettinger threw a strike on his pitch from the top of the mound before the Texas Rangers' home opener. He got a loud ovation, with chants of “U-S-A!” when he was introduced.
That came after the national anthem, during which Rangers fans, like those at Stars games, yelled “Stars!” at both times that phrase came up in the song.
Oettinger wore his U.S. jersey and gold medal that everybody wants to see. Like Frankel, he said the coolest part to him is letting “other people wear it or take pictures with it and how excited they get. ... It just shows you how big the Olympics are. I think when you’re over there playing in it, you don’t really realize the magnitude, and then you get back and see how much it means to everyone is the best part.”
Oettinger, who played baseball until he was about 12, said he threw some Thursday with his younger brother, Thomas, who soon will turn 12. His brother was with him on the field and when they met former president George W. Bush, the former Rangers owner who was also at the game
“Brought my little brother and I got to take him through the clubhouse, and just a first-class organization,” Oettinger said. “Got to meet President Bush, so it has been a great day.”
A little over six weeks since scoring the tying goal late in the gold-medal game on a deflection of captain Hilary Knight's shot, Cleveland Heights' Laila Edwards got a rousing ovation for her first pitch from the mound over the plate before the Guardians' home opener.
“It’s so exciting, especially growing up and being a fan of Cleveland baseball,” Edwards said. “I played baseball in the backyard with my brother. He’s jealous, but I have to make him proud.”
Edwards, who's 22 and considered Knight's successor as the face of women's hockey in the U.S., has done a lot of winning so far this year. She helped Wisconsin to the second of back-to-back national titles, an experience she called surreal.
“I’m having so much fun and being grateful,” Edwards said. “We got back from the Olympics and three days later we were starting NCAA playoffs, so there was no rest there. That’s what we signed up for. And then to be able to win and meant everything."
AP Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins in Arlington, Texas, and AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cleveland contributed to this report.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Olympic gold medal hockey player Laila Edwards throws out a ceremonial first pitch before an opening day baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger throws a ceremonial first pitch prior to the Texas Rangers' home-opener baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes looks on during batting practice before his ceremonial first pitch for the home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes practices ahead of his first pitch before a home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
