There was big news in the NBA yesterday surrounding one of the game’s best players.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has had conversations with the organization about whether his best fit is staying with the team or being traded elsewhere. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers refuted those reports before Milwaukee’s game vs the Pistons last night.
During the game, Antetokounmpo suffered a non-contact injury and left the game and the Bucks said that it was a right calf strain. Today, Charania reports that Antetokounmpo is going to be sidelined for approximately 2-4 weeks with the injury.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to be sidelined for approximately 2 to 4 weeks with a right calf strain, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/k5TyjEo6Eh
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 4, 2025
Currently, the Bucks are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and have a 10-13 record. They started the year outperforming expectations, but with their superstar sidelined for possibly a month, this team might take a turn for the worse.
This situation has major implications for the Atlanta Hawks.
How this can effect the Hawks
Mar 30, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots during the second quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Over the summer, the Hawks made one of the best trades in recent memory. The New Orleans Pelicans moved up from No. 23 to No. 13 on draft night and in the trade, gave the Hawks an unprotected 2026 pick that would be the best of the Pelicans and the Bucks. Most thought the Pelicans would be a bad team (maybe not this bad), but if Giannis were to get hurt or ask for a trade, that would give the Hawks two great chances at landing a top-three pick in a draft with three elite prospects.
If the NBA Draft Lottery were today, the Pelicans have the best odds at winning the lottery while the Bucks have the 13th best odds. That would give the Hawks two shots at getting the No. 1 pick and if Antetokounmpo is really out for four weeks, the Bucks odds are going to move up because they are a far worse team without him.
The other part of this is if the Hawks become players to trade for Antetokounmpo. Unless he asks to go play for a specific team, there are going to be a wide array of suitors for a player who is a legitimate MVP candidate and a top three player in the league. There are three teams (not including the Thunder) that stand out from others as having the best assets that could get a deal for Antetokounmpo done.
Those teams are the Hawks, Rockets, and Spurs.
Atlanta has as good of a combination of established talent, young talent, and draft picks as any team out there and while forward Jalen Johnson may have moved to untouchable status as a player, the draft pick alone is enough to get Atlanta a seat at the table.
This is going to be played out over the next few weeks it feels like, but in the meantime, this injury has large implications for the Hawks due to owning the draft pick in next summer’s draft.
Let’s see where this thing leads and how it can further impact this franchise.
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