Giannis Antetokounmpo will be wearing No. 7 with the Miami Heat, and on Thursday he offered an explanation as to why.
Antetokounmpo said part of his decision was down to his old No. 34 carrying “so much weight” with the Milwaukee Bucks. He wanted to leave that number behind “out of respect for the organization that drafted me” and pick something new in Miami.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, on part of the reason he changed from #34 to #7: "I feel like 34 holds so much weight and has so much history and out of respect for the organization that drafted me…I decided to leave that number there."
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) July 16, 2026
Antetokounmpo explained that he originally wore No. 34 because 3 and 4 were the final digits of his parents’ birth years. He simply added them together to get 7 with Miami.
"I wore 34 because my mom was born in 1963 and my dad was born in 1964 so I took the three and four… if you add three and four it equals seven… I feel like 34 holds so much weight and it has so much history. Out of respect to the organization that drafted me… I decided to… pic.twitter.com/oR7HcoH8fy
— NBA (@NBA) July 16, 2026
The Heat have not issued No. 34 since Ray Allen wore it in 2013-14. It is not retired, however, and undoubtedly would have been Antetokounmpo’s had he wanted it. Instead, he will take a number that has previously been associated with Goran Dragic and Kyle Lowry during their stints in Miami. It was also a number he hinted at wearing even before Thursday, so this had been in the works for a while.
The Bucks have already said they will retire No. 34 for Antetokounmpo. In turn, he is essentially retiring it for the duration of his career, or at least the immediate future.
