Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the most disappointing Milwaukee Buck in 2025-26

No one can deny his scoring prowess and game-changing defensive presence when engaged, but it’s not about that. He hasn’t been happy for a while, and this undignified fence-sitting over what he wants for his future is a distracting cloud over the team.

Giannis Antetokounmpo said he didn’t know if he would finish the season with them. Then on Feb. 3, he also said he wants to be a Buck for his career, but added, “if it is not possible to happen,” as if he were some role player and not one of the top two greatest ballers in franchise history.

Unfortunately, the fans have had to stomach the public indecisiveness from a guy whom the team paired with Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard, two arguable Hall of Famers within three years, and won in between. His teammates had to put up with it, too. It must have been awkward for them to see the guy who gives conflicting answers on his future operate like everything is normal.

People’s perspectives change over time and it seems his have three years after refusing to acknowledge failure for the first round loss to the Miami Heat.

The booing at fans incident was beneath him because no one in the league is too special to not hear the public’s displeasure. He seems too concerned with the optics of ripping the band-aid off. If he did, many would be upset, but who could reasonably lose respect after all he’s done if he felt it was time to walk away?

After all, he’s first in points, rebounds, assists and a bunch of other categories, and another may not ever come around to surpass him in those areas.

It even taints his image to be in partnership with Kalshi, a financial exchange that has been accused of violating state law, which he announced after the trade deadline. One would think that another with generational wealth wouldn’t need to reach for such low-hanging fruit.

The team is in this spot because going all in for titles depletes the toolbox of assets, and starting over is sometimes what it takes to turn the next chapter. Failing on trades only pushes a team closer to the end, and that’s what happened in the swap for Kyle Kuzma since the the Bucks were fooled by how good LeBron James and Anthony Davis made him look, or what he did in a low stakes environment in Washington.

At this point, it’s best if the Bucks and Antetokounmpo move on from each other. As strong as his emotional connection is with Milwaukee, he’ll waste the best years he has left if he sticks around, and he must know it, too. So, there’s no need for him to give the public the runaround like a cheap politician. When someone is all in, there are no conditions.