An NBA insider dropped more bad news to the Milwaukee Bucks in the aftermath of Damian Lillard‘s season-ending injury and their subsequent 129-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 on Sunday.
It involves their franchise star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“It’s possible that Giannis has played his last game in Milwaukee as a Buck,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Monday’s “Hoop Collective” podcast. “I don’t know, but it’s also irresponsible not to contemplate that right now.”
The Bucks are facing a 3-1 series deficit that will be harder to come back from without Lillard, who is feared to have torn his left Achilles.
“Just being honest, it’s not very promising,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said of Lillard’s injury after the loss.
Monday’s scheduled MRI will confirm how much time Lillard will miss next season. He will turn 35 in July.
“When you see a guy like that limping and cannot walk on his own, you know this might be serious,” Antetokounmpo told reporters. “Then, you hope for the best-case scenario. That’s pretty much it. It’s tough.”
But even the best-case scenario will not be enough for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks to be in the group of contenders next season, which begs the question of whether the longtime Milwaukee star will ask out this summer.
Giannis Badly Wants a Second Ring
Antetokounmpo will turn 31 in the middle of next season. The Bucks have no draft capital to reshape the roster around him this offseason. His big-picture interviews since he signed an extension with the Bucks have spoken about his desire to win another championship.
“I’m trying to win a second ring,” he told his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo on the “Thanalysis Show” in April. “Everybody plays to win, but me not having a second championship… I look back at my career, and everybody can say, ‘He had an amazing career,’ first-ballot Hall of Famer, but me personally, if I’m not able to win a second ring, I’m letting down myself.”
In a February interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Antetokounmpo hinted that he’s open to relocating.
“Don’t fall into your comfort zone,” Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t want to stay in my comfort zone. I want to be challenged. And if the challenge is here, which it is right now – we have a real challenge, people don’t respect us, we have a good group, it’s good. But we might not have a challenge one day. We might be rebuilding as a team, or we might not be chasing nothing.
“So, will my individual athlete be more important than the championship? This is a thing that maybe some players make a mistake. They stay in the place maybe too long.”
Early Playoff Exit May Lead to Bucks’ Wholesale Change
Appearing on “The Dan Patrick Show” on April 23, NBA insider Chris Haynes hinted at a murky future in Milwaukee if the Bucks fail to make a deep playoff run.
Antetokounmpo’s future is at the heart of the discussion. Asked if Antetokounmpo will finish his career in Milwaukee, Haynes gave a blunt answer.
“I don’t think so,” Haynes said. “This 2025 Playoffs for the Milwaukee Bucks, it’s gonna be pivotal. If they don’t get to the Finals, win the Finals, or even make a deep run, you can probably see some wholesale changes going on in Milwaukee.
“You can go from coaching staff and front office to the players, it can be a pretty big, significant wholesale if the Milwaukee Bucks don’t make a significant run this postseason.”
Haynes added that the Antetokounmpo era in Milwaukee might end as early as this summer.
“I could see them going in a different direction, and yeah, I can see that possibility if things go sour this postseason for sure,” Haynes said.
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