DHJ Quick Take: Giannis vs. Bucks
- Family Motivation: Giannis Antetokounmpo is pushing to return to the court specifically to play alongside both of his brothers, Thanasis and Alex, which would mark the first time a trio of siblings has played together on the same active NBA roster.
- Internal Conflict: A major rift has formed as Giannis publicly claims he is “healthy enough to play” and views the team’s refusal to clear him as a “slap in the face,” while the Bucks organization maintains he is not medically ready and has allegedly missed scheduled recovery scrimmages.
- League Investigation: The NBA has launched a probe into the Bucks for potential violations of the Player Participation Policy, investigating whether the team is intentionally sidelining a healthy superstar to improve their draft positioning (tanking) after being eliminated from postseason contention
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to play again this season so he can share the court with his brothers, Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Alex Antetokounmpo, per Shams Charania of ESPN.
The NBA is investigating the Bucks for their handling of the player participation policy and potential inconsistent statements regarding the health of Giannis, who believes he’s healthy enough to play with his brothers.
Milwaukee informed the league that it doesn’t believe Giannis is ready to play.
“Giannis is trying to ramp up this week, from my understanding,” Charania said on April 6. “You look at Friday’s home finale potentially. … He does want to play with his brothers. He wants to play with his brothers before the regular season ends. He’s making it very clear behind the scenes that’s his goal.”
Giannis hasn’t played since March 15 against the Indiana Pacers because of a left knee injury. The two-time MVP told reporters before the Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics on April 4 that he’s ready to play, but the team won’t let him.
The Bucks have told investigators that Giannis declined an opportunity to play 3-on-3 scrimmages as part of the return protocol from his knee injury. Giannis, however, told the NBA that he is healthy enough to play.
“There is a disagreement as to whether the team requested that Giannis participate in a group workout earlier this week,” the NBA’s statement read, “and the league is continuing to monitor the situation.”
Milwaukee has already been eliminated from the playoffs and the NBA play-in tournament. With everything that has gone on with Giannis and the Bucks this season, all signs point toward the two sides finally parting ways this offseason.
“For somebody to come and tell me to not play or not to compete, it’s like a slap in my face,” Giannis told reporters on April 4. “So I don’t know where the relationship goes from there.”
Giannis has spent his entire NBA career with the Bucks. He’s a two-time MVP, one-time Finals MVP, one-time Defensive Player of the Year and 10-time All-Star. The Greek Freak is eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million extension with Milwaukee on October 1, but that probably won’t happen.
It will be fascinating to see where Giannis is playing next season. He’s been linked to the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves in trade rumors.
Giannis prefers playing for an East Coast team since the East Coast is closer to Greece, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Antetokounmpo’s wife and kids live in Greece.
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