Doc Rivers denies that Giannis Antetokounmpo has asked to be traded
Watch Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers answer questions about Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and the lineup for the Bucks game against the Detroit Pistons at Fiserv Forum. Courtesy of the Milwaukee Bucks.
It was May 2014, the Milwaukee Bucks just acquired new ownership after then U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl decided to sell the team with a demand that professional basketball remain in the 414 area code.
Fans waited in anticipation for an NBA draft lottery show that would decide who holds the rights to the No. 1 overall pick and would chose between Kansas star Andrew Wiggins and Duke standout Jabari Parker.
Ultimately, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the lottery and the Bucks received the No. 2 pick. With the chance to get one of the elite forwards in college basketball, the future looked bright. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton were then in their second year with the Bucks and no one quite knew their ceilings (Hint: It was an NBA championship in 2021).
Locally, there wasn’t this much excitement around a draft lottery since 2005 when the Bucks drew the No. 1 overall pick and selected Australian Andrew Bogut.
But the business of basketball didn’t end up making the 2014 draft lottery a viral hit. It was the presence of Mallory Edens, the daughter of Bucks owner Wes Edens, who represented the Bucks at the lottery to a national broadcast.
An heir to her billionaire dad’s fortune recently shared in a Dec. 1 interview on the “Unlike Me” podcast that the moment still sticks with her, for better or worse. Most on social media shouted out Edens, a model, for stealing the show.
“I’ll say it. Mallory Edens is a star,” Michelle Beadle, a FanDuel host and former ESPN staffer, tweeted at the time.
“The Cavs won the lottery and Mallory Edens won the Internet,” NBA journalist Bill Simmons added.
But in the days after the draft the online rhetoric became so harmful it took a toll on Edens, she said.
Edens was 18 at the time of the lottery and was just a year removed from a traumatic injury involving her horse that nearly ended her life.
“I actually think people actually don’t know that much about me and I think that the biggest misconception – is just that they don’t know that much about me,” Edens said reflecting on the moment. “I went really viral on the internet at a really young age and it put me in this place where I felt so protective of myself because the things people were saying online about me at that time felt so harmful.
“And I don’t know that I’ve ever if really left that protective casing. So, I think the misconception is just I don’t think people know me that well online. I’m a human, just like you.”
Mallory Edens reminisces on Milwaukee Bucks’ 2021 championship
Edens, 29, grew up a diehard New York Knicks fan and shared some of what it was like behind the scenes during the Bucks’ magical run to the NBA Finals in 2021.
“I grew up a massive NBA fan,” Edens said. “I was that kid with my older brother on the ESPN trade machine trying to figure how to make the Knicks better and make the playoffs.
“This is an incredible part of my life and it’s been an incredible thing I’ve gotten to share with my family and I’ve had experiences that are beyond my wildest dreams. We won a championship and I was in the locker room with the trophy. Who gets to do that? Nobody gets to do that. And little me would think that is coolest thing of all-time.”
Edens wanted to make it clear that there is no longer any allegiance to the Knicks. “I gave it up,” she said. “I’m a deeply loyal person, so when I commit to something, I commit all the way. I hope we get to play the Knicks in the playoffs.”
Mallory Edens has thoughts of increasing her role with Bucks
Being the owner’s kid has a lot of perks. Mainly, it’s rather easy to get hired into the front office. Edens was asked if she ever had interest in being more involved in the organization.
“I’ve had my moments,” she said. “I have such a deep respect for what the front office does and I love just getting to be a fly on the wall in their conversations. I always tell my dad exactly what I think. We have a respectful banter about those things. I love basketball. I’m open minded about what my future holds. I think I got in a little bit of trouble once for saying that I wanted to own the Knicks. God forbid a girl dreams.”
Mallory Edens once dated Aaron Rodgers in 2023
Edens’ celebrity status only grew from 2014 lottery night. Soon she was often a noted attendee at Bucks games, just like her dad.
And in 2023, she reportedly dated former Green Bay Packers quarterback and minority Bucks owner Aaron Rodgers. People Magazine reported that Edens and Rodgers relationship was “more than friends, but it’s casual.”
Rodgers, now 42 and playing for Pittsburgh Steelers, has since gone on the marry a mystery person that has yet to be acknowledged publicly.
While in recent years, Mallory launched her own production company, Little Ray Media. In an Instagram post, she explained that the company’s mission is to “tell stories by and about women and girls, through the financing, development, and production of film, TV, and other forms of premium content.”
This story was updated to add new information.