Giannis Antetokounmpo on if he'll be with the Milwaukee Bucks: 'It's not up to me'
· Yahoo Sports
PHILADELPHIA − Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 13th season with the Milwaukee Bucks ended informally on March 15, after he suffered a hyperextension and bone bruise in his left knee after landing awkwardly following a dunk. He did not play again, despite his belief he was healthy enough to do so, and a league investigation into the Bucks' handling of the situation.
And on April 12, the official end of the 2025-26 season, in the visiting locker room at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Antetokounmpo wasn’t sure if that was his last game ever for the only franchise he’s ever known.
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“I don't know, it's not up to me anymore,” he said. “It's not up to me. We'll see."
Antetokounmpo, 31, is under contract for the 2026-27 season and holds a player option for 2027-28. But, the two-time league Most Valuable Player was the subject of trade speculation since last May, and that will once again pick up now that the Bucks' season is over.
Antetokounmpo is extension-eligible, but not until Oct. 1. And Bucks co-owner and governor Wes Edens told ESPN that the superstar will either sign the extension or be traded – but no one in the organization has clarified if Antetokounmpo will still be on the roster in order to make that choice.
For his part, Antetokounmpo said that if he’s on the team in October and is offered that choice, he wouldn’t necessarily walk away from a new four-year, $275 million deal.
“To sign? A contract? No,” he said. “But, we’ll see when we get there. Until we get to October it’s eight months, seven months. It’s a long time. But somebody has to offer you that for you to sign. I haven’t been offered an extension. So if that is on the table, then I will try to make the best decision for me and family. But if it’s not on the table, then I have to focus on like how can I prove my worth and get on the floor and do what I do.”
In an interview just before the end of the season, Bucks GM Jon Horst insisted the team had yet to come to a decision on its path.
“The truth is I don’t know,” he said. “We don’t know what we’re going to do today [April 7]. And we don’t have to. What I do think we have to do is be very honest, very direct, make a big assessment. We learned a lot this year. It’s a pretty great opportunity. Of course, I’d rather be in the playoffs and be planning for whoever we’re going to play, but we’re not. So what can we learn from it and figure out how we do we get to where we want to get as quick as we can.”
In order to get to that point, however, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks ownership group (which includes co-owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam) and Horst must figure out if they’re actually going to arrive there together.
“I’m very big on communication,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m very big on communication. I think this is why I’m able to have a happy marriage, you know? I’ve been 10 years with my wife [Mariah]. Ten years with my wife, married one and a half and I think we have an incredible family, we love one another and we support one another and the reason that is, is because we communicate with one another. This is why we so tight. We always say the truth and we never argue. Even when we argue we try to figure out a way for us to move on forward and try to find a solution that for that specific moment.
“You don’t let things linger. I’m very big on communication. I’ve always been open. But, I don’t know if that; it gotta go both ways. It has to go both ways. It cannot go one way.”
The Bucks will conduct exit interviews on April 13 in Milwaukee, and the offseason begins in earnest.
The next key date for the franchise is May 10, when the NBA will hold its annual draft lottery. The Bucks will likely get a top 10 pick for the first time since 2016, although they do not “control” their ultimate selection slot. Should the Bucks jump over New Orleans in the lottery slotting, the Pelicans will swap spots a part of the 2020 Jrue Holiday trade.
The draft is in late June, followed by free agency.
As for how far the Bucks are away from contention, Doc Rivers said after the game against Philadelphia it depends on whether the team keeps Antetokounmpo or rebuilds. Antetokounmpo pointed out that the team won the second-fewest games [32] in his tenure, so it would appear they have a long way to go.
“Whether you have an actual commitment and you offer an actual extension, it’s way more about sentimentality and alignment and togetherness and path,” Horst said. “You either have an alignment and an understanding and not commitment necessarily, but a path forward together that you understand and you go execute it. You could call that an extension or you try to figure out the best win-win that you possibly can moving forward via a trade.
“It’s not actually the only two doors, right? There’s door No. 3 that actually exists, but that’s just a level set, non-emotional reality of where it’s at on October 1. And I’m not saying that you do something beforehand. I’m just saying you do have to understand where you want to go, but we don’t have to know that today.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo on if he'll be with the Milwaukee Bucks: 'It's not up to me'