Giannis on likelihood of Bucks trade: ‘I want to be here, but I want to be here to win’

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo rarely speaks to reporters over the phone.

Aside from the group Zoom sessions conducted during the pandemic, I’ve never had a phone conversation with him in more than a decade of covering the Milwaukee Bucks. In order to maintain a strong separation between his work life and personal life, every interview I’ve done with Antetokounmpo has occurred in-person in conjunction with a game, a practice or an event.

But after conducting a one-on-one interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski following his pregame, on-court rehab session before the Bucks’ 131-115 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, Antetokounmpo believed that he needed to find a way to offer me the same opportunity as the other local reporter who follows the Bucks around the country on a daily basis.

That is how it came to be that Antetokounmpo and I chatted over the phone for the first time late Tuesday night as he received treatment for the second right soleus (calf) strain he suffered this season.

Unbreakable loyalty is one of the defining traits of the two-time MVP and, honestly, much of the reason he has drawn the attention of every NBA fan with less than 48 hours left before the trade deadline.

For 13 years, Antetokounmpo has given his all to the organization that selected him with the 15th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, but now that might be in doubt as Bucks general manager Jon Horst has started to listen to trade offers for Antetokounmpo for the first time over the last week.

When asked why it would mean something to him to be with the Bucks for the rest of his career and win again with the team, Antetokounmpo shifted his focus to the city.

“We always go back to the Bucks, the Bucks, the Bucks, and if I’m going to stay here, if I’m not gonna stay here,” Antetokounmpo told The Athletic, using language that initially mirrors what he had said to the Journal Sentinel. “Let’s put the Bucks on the side for one second. Let’s talk about the city itself, the memories that I’ve created here. When you open my kids’ passports, it says Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I had four kids in the span of the last five years in this city. My dad is buried in this city. I’ve built a house for my mom 10 seconds away from my house. Literally, to walk to my mom’s front door, it takes me four seconds … right next door.

“On what planet, on what Earth, would somebody want to leave this?”

In short, they wouldn’t. And Antetokounmpo hasn’t.

Despite there being serious doubts about Antetokounmpo’s willingness to sign extensions in both 2020 and 2023, Horst made important personnel decisions that convinced Antetokounmpo the Bucks would have a chance to win. And eventually, the Greek forward signed on the dotted line to remain in Milwaukee.

This past summer, after Damian Lillard tore his left Achilles tendon in the 2025 playoffs, those same doubts existed. But this time, there was no extension to sign. Antetokounmpo is not eligible for his next extension with the Bucks until Oct. 1, 2026. Instead, all he could do was offer his commitment to remain in Milwaukee and give everything in his power to lead his team to the playoffs.

If there were any doubts about that commitment, Antetokounmpo believes his performance against the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 23 proves just how loyal he has been and how dedicated he was to helping this team win.

“There’s going to be some people that are like, ‘Hey, man, when s— got hard, he left us. When it didn’t go his way, he left,’” Antetokounmpo said. “It bothers me — which it should not be bothering me — because I don’t like to quit. I got hurt in the first quarter of the game, the last game I played. And then in the fourth quarter, I got hurt again.

“Any other player on this planet would have — in my position, going through the season that he’s going through, and all these injuries coming back, win, lose, win, lose, inconsistent play, blah, blah — would have said, ‘Oh yeah, I’m just gonna protect my calf. You don’t know what tomorrow holds. Let’s just make a business decision here.’ That’s not me though.”

Antetokounmpo moved gingerly after the first quarter that night. It was clear that his movement was hampered by an injury, but he kept playing for three more quarters and exceeded his minutes limit to help the Bucks attempt to pull off what would have been an incredible comeback.

With less than a minute remaining, Antetokounmpo heard his right soleus pop, and he was forced to miss the rest of the game.

“People, my agent, my physio (physiotherapist), people that love me, were like, ‘What the f— are you doing?’ That’s not me,” Antetokounmpo said. “My wife texted me after the game, ‘Why didn’t you leave the game?’ I said that’s not what I do. I don’t quit.

“I will go down swinging. It doesn’t matter, good or bad. You know why? I have trusted God until this point, and God always had a plan for me. There’s no reason for me not to trust him. He always has a platform, and this is how he built me. Some people say it’s the flaw; I call it strength. I’ve been, until this point in my career, having that mentality. So, you think I’m gonna change now? Hell no. Hell no, I don’t quit.”

Ultimately, this phone call didn’t happen because people on the internet were questioning Antetokounmpo’s toughness or his willingness to play through injuries. This interview happened because Antetokounmpo has been the subject of more trade rumors than any other player in the NBA.

“Brother, if you ask me deep down what I want today, I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career,” Antetokounmpo said. “I want to win here, another championship. And if you can tell me that’s possible, let’s just hang up the phone.

“You know basketball. You see basketball. You understand basketball. You’ve been around greatness. You’ve been around a championship team. You’ve been around a good culture. You’ve been around when the popcorn was popping. You were around; you saw it. If you tell me that that’s possible, we can hang up the phone and keep on moving with our day.”

Neither of us hung up the phone, and neither of us moved about the rest of our days.

Even after Tuesday night’s win, the Bucks are only 19-29 on the season. They’re currently in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and 3 1/2 games behind the 10th place Chicago Bulls. Per the NBA’s official stats, they are 24th in offensive rating, 22nd in defensive rating and get outscored by four points per 100 possessions.

There is no avoiding the fact that this year’s Bucks have not been good.

“I want to be here, but I want to be here to win, not fighting for my life to make the playoffs,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m not used to inconsistent basketball. I’ve played so many years of consistent basketball, I am not used to it anymore. During the game, I don’t know if you can see my face, (but) I get frustrated during the game, while the game is going on.

“I know there’s gonna be times you’re gonna lose; you’re not gonna win all the games. … But at the end of the day, it’s like how we carry ourselves. I see other teams, how they are and how they play, how connected the chemistry they have and how people are doing the right thing and they’re riding for one another. I just want that. I want that for my team.”

Even if Antetokounmpo wants that, the Bucks are not going to be that team this season. But with three first-round picks this offseason, including a pick that could end up in the top 10, the Bucks could try to make some more offseason moves to try to push back into contention.

So, would Antetokounmpo commit to another season with the Bucks if they were able to get back into position to win consistently?

“You’re saying that if they can convince me to stay within the team, and the next year that we can compete? Oh yeah, 1,000 percent,” Antetokounmpo said. “One million percent.”

But that will require a significant turnaround. Because for the time being, the Bucks are not close to where Antetokounmpo wants to be. They’re not playing the type of basketball he wants to play.

While that would have bothered him throughout his entire career, it’s especially frustrating for Antetokounmpo now that he is on the back half of his career. If his body were younger, maybe he’d have the physical endurance and strength to carry a team. If he were less experienced or didn’t understand the game at such a high level, maybe he’d have the patience to wait — or the ignorance to not know any better — but that is no longer the case.

“It’s always (about) competing, man,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like I’m 31 years old. … There’s fewer chances left in front of me that I will be able to compete and be there, play and feel like the way I felt like a couple years ago.

“I just want to go back to that as soon as I can, because I feel like we’re running out of chances, running out of time. Like, how long would your prime be? If I’m lucky, let’s say 36, 37. If I take the LeBron James route, maybe 41, but let’s be realistic here. … Father Time is undefeated.”

It has now been five years since the Bucks won Antetokounmpo’s lone championship in 2021. Since winning 16 games in one postseason to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the Bucks have won only 13 combined postseason games over the last four seasons.

As things stand now, they won’t have a chance to add to that tally this season, and that will leave Antetokounmpo far short of his goal of winning a second NBA title.

“The moment you feel it, you have that Larry O’Brien dust on you. That’s all you chase,” Antetokounmpo said. “And if you don’t chase it, that means you don’t want to be all that great.”

Antetokounmpo clearly wants to chase greatness. At the trade deadline, the Bucks will have to decide if they believe they can still offer Antetokounmpo the chance to chase greatness in the city he loves and how soon they might be able to offer it — or if their chase needs to start anew as Antetokounmpo gets to make his chase from a new place.