Giannis Antetokounmpo stayed put with the Milwaukee Bucks through the trade deadline, but we still might not be seeing much of him.
The Bucks are expected to deactivate Antetokounmpo now that he is still on their roster, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Thursday on “First Take.” In other words, Milwaukee would not be playing Antetokounmpo for the rest of the NBA season.
Antetokounmpo, the 31-year-old former MVP, was the single hottest name at this year’s NBA trade deadline. He had reportedly lost patience with the Bucks amid their rough 2025-26 campaign and was even linked to some big-name teams on the trade market.
But Milwaukee was seemingly never actually serious about trading Antetokounmpo ahead of the deadline. Antetokounmpo himself then posted a great reaction over social media to not getting dealt.
Now the attention for the Bucks shifts to the rest of this season. Milwaukee is now 20-29 on the year (not even in the play-in tournament conversation), and Antetokounmpo is in the middle of an extended absence after suffering a calf injury.
The Bucks own their first-round draft pick this year, so they don’t have much reason to rush Antetokounmpo back from his injury. While the Antetokounmpo trade circus could easily start up again this summer, it sounds like Milwaukee will exercise an abundance of caution and keep The Greek Freak bubble-wrapped until then.
