The Milwaukee Bucks‘ season has ended in the first round of the Playoffs for the third season in a row, ending at the hands of the Indiana Pacers for the second straight year. This loss hurts more than most, as the Bucks blew multiple leads in the fourth quarter and OT to allow the Pacers to steal this one 119-118 in OT and eliminate the Bucks in Game 5.
With Damian Lillard expected to miss a year after his Achilles tear, the likelihood of the Bucks competing for a title again is non-existent. As a result, superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was grilled over his belief in the Bucks to bring him his second ring, to which he had an interesting response.
“I’m not gonna do this. Whatever I say I know it’s going to translate. I don’t know man. I wish I was still playing.”
Giannis on whether he can still win chips in Milwaukee:
"I'm not gonna do this. Whatever I say I know it's going to translate. I don't know man. I wish I was still playing" pic.twitter.com/a4gGhXSoim
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) April 30, 2025
Giannis recently opened up on the Thanalysis Show about his desire to win another NBA Championship, even referring to it as his only remaining goal in the league.
“I look back at my career, and everybody can say, ‘He had an amazing career,’ first-ballot Hall of Famer, but me personally, if I’m not able to win a second ring, I’m letting down myself. I really want to win a second one. Hopefully, I will do it. Hopefully, I’m healthy.”
If a championship is all Giannis wants right now, the Bucks might be one of the last real contenders in the NBA at this point. Their coaching staff is unimpressive and led by Doc Rivers; they have absolutely no future assets in terms of picks or young players, and they’re going to be without a 35-year-old guard on a supermax contract for essentially the entirety of next season.
There aren’t any moves the Bucks can make this summer, with the roster arguably in a position to get worse. They either overpay to retain 37-year-old Brook Lopez or let him go for free. Outside of that, it doesn’t look like the Bucks can refresh their roster with Kyle Kuzma or Bobby Portis Jr. as the signature outgoing assets.
Nobody will take on Lillard with an Achilles tear and three years left on a supermax contract either, so the Bucks’ hands are literally tied. The prospect of Giannis leaving over the summer as the only way the Bucks can recoup their lost future assets is extremely real.
Giannis is 30 years old and has spent 12 seasons with the Bucks, giving them the best years of his career and a championship. He averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists this season and 33.0 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists in the Playoffs, proving he’s still one of the best players in the NBA.
Contenders with huge asset reserves can tempt the Bucks into dealing the greatest player in franchise history, as it’s the only way they can hope to be competitive again in the 2020s.
Giannis potentially didn’t want to answer this in depth because he needs time to process tonight’s loss. But the more you look at the Bucks roster and assets situation, it becomes increasingly clear that Giannis’s days of leading the Bucks to the No. 1 seed and title contention are in the rearview mirror.
