How Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly felt about his teammates in his final Bucks season

It's been two days since the blockbuster trade that 11-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo, from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat.

The entire city of Milwaukee is shook, Miami fans are estatic and all of the drama regarding the Bucks forward is over, or so we thought.

While it seemed that time has moved on with the NBA Draft taking place yesterday and Milwaukee drafting two players in Brayden Burries at pick No. 10 and Nate Ament at pick No. 13, some interesting pieces about Antetokounmpo's final days with the Bucks have been revealed.

From the firing of two coaches, eventually becoming three and trading away irreplaceable players such Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, a decorated and polished story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Jim Owczarski broke down how we got to where we are now.

How the Giannis Antetokounmpo era in Milwaukee came to a bitter end https://t.co/Jchg7v1GFO
— Journal Sentinel (@journalsentinel) June 24, 2026

And in that breakdown we learn how Antetokounmpo truly felt about his team.

In December where the Bucks were already trending downwards, frustrations amplified for Antetokounmpo. From drawing game-winning plays on the sideline against the Charlotte Hornets, to firing the Bucks former president Peter Feigin, Antetokounmpo was simply at his breaking point

In one part of the article, Owczarski states he began to criticize the coaches for not holding him and team accountable specifically the team's overall selfishness.

"Antetokounmpo then began to amplify his issues," Owczarski said. "He criticized the coaches for not holding him accountable, how the offense was being run, and his teammate's selfishness."

Given the current state of the Bucks team in that moment, Antetokounmpo's dissatisfaction spilled onto the court seemingly showing that his interest in playing for the Bucks was running out.

Not shooting the ball, booing his own fans in Milwaukee and looking like he didn't even want to be on the court during the Bucks 119-101 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Jan.15.

Rough times continued to build to for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. When head coach Doc Rivers stated that 76ers center Joel Embiid was the most talented player he had ever coached on Jan. 27, ESPN reported that Antetokounmpo wanted out the following day.

Players didn't know what was going on during games, trade offers were quietly approaching and coaches called out players such as Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins

Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins — Jan 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. (7) and guard Ryan Rollins (13) and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

After a second half meltdown agaisnt the Bulls in March, in which Rollins and Kyle Kuzma combined for nine turnovers, while Porter shot 1-for-9 from the field in the second half.

Porter voiced his displeasure for being taken out the game resulting in a chewing out from assistant coach Darvin Ham. While the criticism and the intent was accurate, the delivery was not, leading to a team that was mentally broken.

Kuzma trying to reassure his teammates to sweat the lecture, he was disciplined by head coach Doc Rivers after the message got back to him and earned his first "did not play - coach's decision" of his career.

After being asked bythe Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that it that night the team broke, he confirmed it.

"Yeah definitely. I think mentally it [expletive] us a little."

The losing accelerated

Down the stretch the Bucks lost 108-81 to the Boston Celtics, then lost again to the Atlanta hawks, 130-91 which resulted in Antetokounmpo throwing the ball at the backboard stanchion to show his frustration.

Antetokounmpo is player who plays hard and doesn't want to just lie down and roll over. Even battling injuries, he wanted to play but the Bucks wouldn't let him, resulting in him and the organization to butt heads.

When Bucks co-owner, Wes Edens stated that Antetokounmpo would either extend his contract or be traded, that's when the two-time Most Valuable Player felt disrespected.

“Especially [as] somebody that has been this loyal, and I've showed appreciation, to the team, to the community, to the fans, to everybody that I've worked with, you know?” Antetokounmpo stated in the article. “And that's almost, like, a slap in my face.”

Antetokounmpo still wanted to play as the Bucks were still in contention of making the play-in, and to him, it felt like the ownership quit on the season.

The feeling that his teammates selfishness was continued to be made aware in the article.

Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly called his teammates "selfish" per @JimOwczarski

“Antetokounmpo let it be known he did not like locker room leaks, but his mental state was chronicled nearly all season by anonymous sources. He pleaded for accountability but then tried to pass… pic.twitter.com/yhHvuPn4Jj
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) June 24, 2026

Owczarski wrote, “Antetokounmpo let it be known he did not like locker room leaks, but his mental state was chronicled nearly all season by anonymous sources. He pleaded for accountability but then tried to pass off those reports as someone else’s doing. He would call his teammates selfish but then stand on a visiting team’s court with a former coach and yell about how that person would make sure he got the ball.”

It's clear that many things contributed to Antetokounmpo wanting leave Milwaukee as the organizations unstable atmosphere was the catalyst.

However, it is interesting to see how the relationship between him and his teammates started to unwind after years of having players like Holiday and Middleton made them almost unseperable.

It seems like once those pieces who were apart of a championship team were gone, so was a piece of Antetokounmpo.

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