The Milwaukee Bucks need to win all 82 regular-season games and sweep every team in the playoffs en route to winning the 2026 NBA Finals for Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay in Wisconsin. In all seriousness, the Bucks need to do a lot — and quickly — for Giannis not to request a trade. The pressure has been on, but it ramped up after ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania's latest report.
Charania reported that the only other team Giannis wanted to play for this summer was the Knicks. Milwaukee and New York engaged in exploratory trade talks in August, but they didn't turn into anything.
It's no secret that Giannis prioritizes winning above all else, and there have been trade rumors surrounding his future in Milwaukee. On Wednesday, he addressed the report, saying that he believes in "this team" and his "teammates," and "will lead this team to wherever we can go and it's definitely going to be hard..." He followed that up by saying he could change his mind in "six, seven months."
Giannis responds: https://t.co/8hbocRb2yW pic.twitter.com/rm1X6wBR4S
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) October 8, 2025
Nobody questioned whether Giannis was locked in or not. He always is, and always has been, even with the trade chatter growing louder. He will do whatever it takes to help the Bucks win games, but he can't do it alone.
If Milwaukee doesn't get off to a good start, or finishes the season with another early playoff exit, Giannis could change his mind and decide that the Bucks are no longer the team he wants to play for.
Giannis is 'locked in' with the Bucks (for now)
If you want to get technical, six months from now is April, when the regular season ends. Seven months is May. If Giannis meant that literally, he will re-evaluate his future at the end of the 2025-26 season.
As Charania noted in his piece, it's not Giannis' nature to publicly request a trade and put pressure on the Bucks to move him. However, if it does come to that, that may not be something he wants to do during the season, as it'd be a distraction not only for himself, but also for his team. That doesn't mean that it won't happen, though.
Milwaukee would rather do anything but trade Giannis. The way to ensure that won't happen is by winning. Sounds easy enough, right? Ha!