Giannis Antetokounmpo Had Smart Answer About His Future With Bucks After Loss

Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't want to answer a question about the possibility of the Bucks not being contenders moving forward.
Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't want to answer a question about the possibility of the Bucks not being contenders moving forward. / NBA

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks were knocked out of the playoffs in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night and it didn't take long for questions about his future with the franchise to be asked.

Rumors had circulated earlier in the postseason that Antetokounmpo could demand a trade once the season is over if the team didn't make a deep run. The Bucks are a mess with no first-round draft picks until 2031 and it doesn't feel like they'll be able to build a championship team around the 30-year-old star. Plus, this is the third straight year they've lost in the first round of the playoffs.

After the game Antetokounmpo was asked if he thinks the Bucks could challenge for a championship in the coming years, which was basically a way of asking him if he thinks he'd be happy to stick around in Milwaukee while they try to rebuild.

He had a very smart answer to that, saying:

"I'm not gonna do this. I know how this is gonna, whatever I say I know it's going to translate. I don't know man. I wish I was still playing. I wish I was still competing and going back to Milwaukee. I don't know."

That was a good way to deflect the question and not give any of the sports talk shows any quotes to use in arguments about his future with the team.

But it sure feels like things could soon be coming to an end for Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee.


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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.