After Antetokounmpo suffered a left knee hyperextension with 15 games remaining, the team chose to shut him down with the team\u2019s playoff chances still alive. The decision infuriated the ever-competitive Antetokounmpo<\/a>, who wanted to keep playing, and even further strained the relationship between the two parties when it meant the 10-time All-Star wouldn\u2019t get a chance to play with his two brothers.<\/p>\n Antetokounmpo insisted that he was healthy the entire time. The Bucks claimed the opposite, maintaining that their star was never medically cleared. The players\u2019 association issued a statement<\/a>, the NBA began looking into the matter and general manager Jon Horst, for his part, said that it had \u201cnothing to do with tanking<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n For 82 games, the Bucks never changed course and ended the season in the lottery.<\/p>\n Immediately after that 82nd game, though, things started to change as news of Doc Rivers\u2019 departure<\/a> dropped shortly after the veteran head coach finished up his final media availability of the season Sunday night. But that move doesn\u2019t change what the Bucks trudged through to get to the end of a season full of oddly-timed statements, alienation and broken trust.<\/p>\n And now, Antetokounmpo\u2019s future will be the talk of the NBA \u2014 again.<\/p>\n Before thinking through what alterations might come as the offseason continues though, let\u2019s put the 2025-26 season under the microscope and further examine a season that begged for change, but never got it \u2026 before spending the offseason trying to figure out whether the organization will actually make the biggest change by trading the best player in franchise history.<\/p>\n The 2025-26 season ended, fittingly, with a 126-106 loss to the 76ers on Sunday in Philadelphia. The game was of little consequence for the Bucks, but it did serve as an apt reminder of one of the more eyebrow-raising moments of the season.<\/p>\n The Bucks\u2019 first visit to Philadelphia, on Jan. 23, was the team\u2019s first game since Antetokounmpo suffered his second calf strain of the season against the Denver Nuggets.<\/p>\n Despite initially straining his calf during the first half of that game, Antetokounmpo played through clear and obvious pain to try to help the Bucks pull off a comeback win. In doing so, Antetokounmpo made his injury even worse. Following the game, he told reporters that he heard a pop in his right knee in the game\u2019s final moments and knew that he had strained his soleus, which would require a four-to-six week absence to get healthy.<\/p>\n So, while the Bucks started a three-game Eastern Conference road trip in Philadelphia a week and a half before the trade deadline, Antetokounmpo remained in Milwaukee to begin the rehab process to try to get back on the floor as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n During his pregame session in Philadelphia, head coach Doc Rivers told reporters that 76ers center Joel Embiid is \u201cthe most talented player\u201d that he has ever coached. He shared that same sentiment with the NBC announcing team<\/a> that was broadcasting that night\u2019s nationally televised game.<\/p>\n The comment immediately exploded on social media as NBA observers wondered why Rivers would make such a claim while he was currently coaching Antetokounmpo, an NBA champion who has accomplished more than Embiid.<\/p>\n \n Doc Rivers\u2019 praise for Joel Embiid, at a time when Giannis Antetokounmpo was injured, hit an odd note. (Jeff Hanisch \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n The incident in Philadelphia, however, was far from the only time Rivers decided to share an opinion that was unpopular with his players, and there were plenty of times where Rivers was far more direct with his opinions.<\/p>\n One such example came when the Bucks made their way to Phoenix in the final month of the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n Following a morning shootaround in Phoenix on March 21, multiple league sources tell The Athletic that Rivers called a group of veteran players together for a meeting in Mortgage Matchup Center, while the rest of the team got shots up after shootaround out on the floor.<\/p>\n Per multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, Rivers then went on to inform the veteran players that he believed they had failed him this season and questioned the group\u2019s commitment, conditioning, focus and leadership. Rivers\u2019 message incensed the group, and the players stood up for themselves, firing back at their head coach over his claims.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when I checked out on this season,\u201d one of the veteran players told The Athletic.<\/p>\n In the 13 games after the post-shootaround meeting in Phoenix, Rivers played 13 different starting lineups as players throughout the roster moved on and off the injury report to close the season.<\/p>\n Despite those issues and the team\u2019s poor performance throughout the season, Horst stood by the job Rivers did in leading the team through this tumultuous season when pressed about the head coach\u2019s performance in an interview with Milwaukee beat reporters last week.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an incredibly tough year and, in my opinion, Doc did his absolute best to keep the train on the rails as long as possible, and I think it was kind of masterful in a lot of ways,\u201d Horst said last Tuesday<\/a>. \u201cDid he hit every single thing right? No. Did I? No. But it\u2019s a really challenging year. He was unbelievable to work with throughout the year with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Following Sunday\u2019s game, Rivers departed as the Bucks\u2019 head coach with one year remaining on his contract. While the Bucks and Rivers are discussing a role within the organization moving forward, The Athletic reported that Rivers appears interested in taking a break.<\/p>\n \u201cI gotta go to grandparents day on the 21st (of April),\u201d Rivers said before Sunday\u2019s game, emphasizing his desire to spend more time with his grandchildren. \u201cThere\u2019s another grandparents day on the 24th. I have something on my schedule right now that I need to do, and I\u2019m looking forward to doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Potential issues with the organization\u2019s decision-makers, however, were not limited to only Rivers. Multiple team sources detailed how they believed Horst\u2019s behavior changed this season as well.<\/p>\n When the Bucks were annually competing for the NBA\u2019s best record, Horst was a fixture around the team, regularly attending shootarounds on the road and popping into the locker room to chat with players. His presence was noticeable, clear and consistent.<\/p>\n Multiple team sources tell The Athletic that they felt as though Horst\u2019s presence this season was more sporadic, with the Bucks general manager joining the team for fewer road games and keeping a greater distance from the team than he had in previous seasons.<\/p>\n In the end, the Bucks compiled a 32-50 record. They missed the final Play-In spot in the Eastern Conference by 11 games and the final guaranteed playoff spot by 14 games. And, as Horst admitted when talking to Milwaukee\u2019s beat writers last Tuesday, they never even looked the part of a playoff team for an extended period this season.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the first time in 10 years we\u2019re going to miss the playoffs,\u201d Horst said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the first time in 10 years that we didn\u2019t win a championship. But it\u2019s the first time in 10 years that I think, realistically, by the time we got to the end of the regular season, we haven\u2019t felt like we had a chance, right?\u201d<\/p>\n After a season of will-they-or-won\u2019t-they, this offseason will set all NBA eyes upon Milwaukee once again.<\/p>\n The Bucks seemingly flirted with the idea of dealing Antetokounmpo as the February trade deadline approached, and the star player told The Athletic<\/a> at the time that \u201cI want to be here, but I want to be here to win, not fighting for my life to make the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n But in the same conversation, he left open the door for the team to once again convince him to stay.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re 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,\u201d Antetokounmpo said. \u201cOne million percent.\u201d<\/p>\n Later that week, the Bucks opted to keep Antetokounmpo<\/a>, and he announced the news<\/a> with an Instagram caption that read: \u201cLegends don\u2019t chase. They attract.\u201d<\/p>\n But the possibility of revisiting a trade conversation this summer still lingered.<\/p>\n Bucks controlling owner Wes Edens has not spoken to local reporters since taking questions the day before the 2025-26 season tipped. His only public comments on the team since media day came in an interview with ESPN in which he laid out the team\u2019s decision-making process with Antetokounmpo in simple terms.<\/p>\n \u201cGiannis is going into the last year (of his contract). So one of two things will happen: Either he will be extended, or he\u2019ll be traded,\u201d Edens said. \u201cThe likelihood you\u2019ll let him just kind of play out the last year, we can\u2019t afford that. It\u2019s not consistent with what\u2019s good for the organization. That\u2019s not a Giannis issue. That\u2019s any player that\u2019s in their last year.\u201d<\/p>\n While that statement seems to set up a binary that must be followed and seemingly places the decision at the feet of Antetokounmpo, make no mistake, the Bucks will be the ones deciding whether the best player in franchise history will be signing an extension in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n \n Which NBA jersey will Antetokounmpo be wearing next season? (Benny Sieu \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n Antetokounmpo is not eligible to sign an extension until Oct. 1. The Bucks will not be able to sit on their hands and wait until that moment to make decisions about their future. They cannot afford to wait, like they did when they engaged the New York Knicks on a possible trade for Antetokounmpo in August before the 2025-26 season. Instead, they will need to choose a path and pursue it relentlessly.<\/p>\n That started with Rivers\u2019 decision to depart as head coach of the Bucks on Sunday night. With Rivers out after two and a half seasons, the Bucks will need to find a new coach to lead them moving forward and put together a tactical plan to get the franchise back into the postseason.<\/p>\n From a roster perspective, Horst\u2019s work will begin in earnest as soon as the offseason begins as the Bucks will need to go through the NBA Draft and free agency and build a team. And those decisions should make Antetokounmpo\u2019s future in Milwaukee much more clear.<\/p>\n Throughout his career, Antetokounmpo has asked the Bucks to prove that they are serious about winning and contending for championships before agreeing to his next supermax extension. And each time, in the months leading up to when that decision has needed to be made, Horst has risen to the occasion and delivered a trade that puts the Bucks back in the contention conversation in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n Horst will have that opportunity again this summer.<\/p>\n In free agency, the Bucks likely won\u2019t end up with much cap space, but they should have the full nontaxpayer midlevel exception (roughly $15 million) and the bi-annual exception (roughly $5.5 million) to use on signing outside free agents. And the Bucks will have to use all of their resources if they want to put the roster back in a position to contend at a high level.<\/p>\n \u201cJon talked to you guys the other day, and one of the things he said is we gotta improve the roster,\u201d Rivers told reporters before Friday\u2019s game against the Brooklyn Nets. \u201cWe gotta do different things, and clearly, we have to do that.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re 26th in spending, and that\u2019s including (Damian Lillard\u2019s) $20 million, so we\u2019re probably like 28th in spending. And not because our owners won\u2019t do it. They will do it. It was just the situation we were in this year, so there\u2019s a lot of growth, a lot of moves, a lot of things we all have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Milwaukee has the rights to a lottery pick in the loaded 2026 NBA Draft, and once they get to draft night, the Bucks will have the ability to trade their 2031 and 2033 first-round picks. If the organization decides it wants to continue to pursue championships with Antetokounmpo, Horst will have three tradeable first-round picks to use to begin setting a path toward that this offseason.<\/p>\n But that will require choosing a clear direction.<\/p>\n In short, if the Bucks want to push their chips all in again to convince Antetokounmpo to sign that extension on Oct. 1, they will have the necessary assets at their disposal this summer. And if they want to trade Antetokounmpo, there will be a long list of suitors that will likely grow as teams come up short of their respective goals in the postseason.<\/p>\n Now, they just have to decide what exactly it is they want to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Frustration written all over his face, Giannis Antetokounmpo stewed on the bench. He had been back from injury…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[360,355,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-581420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_28457834-scaled.jpg\")
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