Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are reportedly set to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the superstar’s future with the franchise, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The meeting comes on the heels of a third straight first-round playoff exit for Milwaukee, this time at the hands of the Indiana Pacers again.
With Damian Lillard now sidelined for potentially the entire 2025-26 season due to a torn Achilles tendon, questions about Giannis’ long-term commitment to the Bucks are growing louder.
Since winning the NBA championship in 2021, the Bucks have won just one playoff series in four years. Their 2022 run was cut short in the second round when Khris Middleton went down, and they were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in seven games.
In 2023, Giannis missed two crucial games against the Miami Heat, and Milwaukee was stunned in five games by the eighth seed, leading to the firing of head coach Mike Budenholzer.
In 2024, the Bucks brought in Damian Lillard to give Giannis the co-star he had long lacked. But the partnership never found consistency. Adrian Griffin was fired midseason and replaced by Doc Rivers, who failed to stabilize the team and lost in the first round to the Indiana Pacers in six games.
This season was supposed to be different. Giannis was healthy for the playoffs even though Dame was returning from an injury. But then came Lillard’s Achilles tear in Game 4 of the series against Indiana. Despite Giannis averaging 33 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists in the postseason, Milwaukee was eliminated in five games.
Now, Giannis finds himself at a crossroads. At age 30 and in his 12th NBA season, the two-time MVP is still in his prime but growing increasingly frustrated by the team’s inability to build a sustainable contender around him.
With no cap flexibility, few draft assets, and no young core to build around, Milwaukee faces a bleak outlook. Brook Lopez is 37 and set to hit free agency. Kyle Kuzma, acquired in the Khris Middleton trade, has underwhelmed.
Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton may not return, and the team is burdened with Lillard’s massive supermax contract for the next three years.
If Giannis is truly prioritizing a second championship, it’s fair to wonder whether his future lies elsewhere. Teams like the Thunder and Nets have the draft capital and young players to make a viable trade offer.
Unless the Bucks can present a compelling vision in their upcoming meeting, a franchise-altering decision could be on the horizon.
Giannis has given Milwaukee everything—12 seasons, an MVP run, a championship, and a legacy. Now, the question is whether the Bucks can still give him what he wants most: another ring.
