Mar 19, 2026
3 min read
The Bucks believe it would be beneficial for Antetokounmpo to sit out the team's remaining 14 games, but he wants to play, according to league sources.
With less than a month left in the NBA regular season, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are at odds over whether the two-time MVP should complete Milwaukee's 14 remaining games.
According to league sources, the Bucks have made it clear to the middle of their franchise that it would be a privilege to sit with a team that is 6 1/2 games behind the Charlotte Hornets for the final playoff spot.
While injuries have forced Antetokounmpo to miss 32 games already this season, league sources tell The Athletic that the 10-time All-Star forward has informed the team that he does not want to shorten the season.
Antetokounmpo, who has been the subject of intense trade rumors throughout the offseason but stayed with the team until last month's deadline, has been under a minutes restriction this season as he battles calf, ankle, ankle and knee injuries.He appeared in 36 games and averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 28.9 minutes.
When reached for comment, a team source said Antetokounmpo is still injured and has not played at this time, and will provide an update if that changes.
Antetokounmpo's latest injury is a strained left knee suffered in the third quarter of the Bucks' 134-123 win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
After that game, Antetokounmpo told reporters he thought he was fine, that he thought he could return to the game and that he would not need further imaging.Bucks coach Doc Rivers told reporters before Tuesday's game that his star in Milwaukee was scheduled for an MRI on Monday to make sure.
"Luckily, the pictures were very good, so there was no damage. There was nothing," Rivers said. "It was all really good news. But I don't know the next part (of when I'll be back).
Despite having a clean MRI of his left knee,But the Bucks announced that Antetokounmpo would have to play in Tuesday's 123-116 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers two hours before the report was received.
While Antetokounmpo was previously listed as questionable on the injury report with a sprained ankle, Milwaukee updated his injury report saying he is out with a sprained left knee.
After it was announced that Antetokounmpo would miss Tuesday's game, Rivers was asked if the risk of another injury to the Bucks' best player would outweigh the reward of playing him as a playoff appearance seems so remote.
"That's a good question," Rivers said."I don't have the answer, but it's a very good question... That's really all I have, but it's a good question. It's something we'll talk about, but that's it."
Bucks management has already approached Antetokounmpo about the idea of not playing another game for Milwaukee this season, league sources told The Athletic on Tuesday, which the season's leading scorer vehemently rejected.
Losing as much as possible this season will help the Bucks' long-term prospects.The team has a chance to get a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft, one of the most loaded drafts in recent memory.will get their pick and the Pelicans less so.
As of Wednesday morning, the Pelicans — the pick goes to Atlanta — have the NBA's seventh-worst record, while the Bucks are tied for ninth-worst with the Chicago Bulls.Even if the Bucks use this year's first-round pick in a trade to improve the team around their star or pick up a young player to help build a new roster, picking up a strong lottery prospect will be in their favor.Losing more will only improve those odds.
Benching Antetokounmpo will likely result in a loss.The Bucks (28-40) are 11-21 without Antetokounmpo this season and 17-19 with him.
While the franchise kept Antetokounmpo until the Feb. 5 trade deadline, general manager Jon Horst listened to offers from opposing teams at the helm, a stark contrast to his specific view of Antetokounmpo's future.There are expectations that business can be explored again this summer.
The franchise's best bet would be to ensure Antetokounmpo is healthy in the offseason, regardless of whether they decide to trade him or offer him a supermax extension on October 1 after they bolster their roster.
During his tenure as general manager, Horst regularly turned down opposing teams who wanted to trade for Antetokounmpo, instead trying to surround the superstar with as much talent as possible to keep the Bucks in contention for an NBA title.
Even with first playoff exits in each of the last three seasons, Milwaukee has been in the title conversation at the start of the last seven seasons and won the NBA title in 2021.
After Tuesday's game, Rivers said he believed Antetokounmpo would join the team in Salt Lake City for Thursday's game against the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee's first game on a four-game Western Conference road trip.
While it remains to be seen if this disagreement will lead to Antetokounmpo returning to the floor soon, the opposing views from both sides on how to move forward are worth watching closely with a crucial offseason quickly approaching.
