Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
What are we supposed to think about the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga?
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is exploring his options; so what does that mean? Jim Owczarski discusses.
The latest news in the speculation this week about Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks came Friday night, Dec. 5, when Amazon’s “NBA on Prime” insider Chris Haynes said he had spoken with Antetokounmpo.
“I did reach out to Giannis and he spoke to me about just being where his feet are planted,” Haynes said during the “NBA on Prime” studio show. “He said that is where his focus is at. …
“He said, ‘There are people who see a door and they want to hurry up and escape through that door. But I see a wall and I want to run through the wall and make things work. That’s my focus right now. I want to run through a wall, make things work, get healthy and try to be there for my team.’
“And he said he doesn’t know what’s going on behind the scenes with the front office or what they’re looking at doing as far as his future goes. He said his focus is getting healthy and being there for his team and not running from situations.”
That generally matches what Antetokounmpo told the media in October, addressing reports that the Bucks and New York Knicks had discussed a trade:
“I think I’ve communicated with my teammates, communicated with the people I respect and love that the moment I step on this court or in this facility, I wear this jersey, the rest does not matter. I’m locked into whatever I have in front of me. Now, if in six, seven months, I change my mind, I think that’s human too, you’re allowed to make any decision you want.
“I’m locked in. I’m locked into this team. I’m locked into these guys, to this group and to my coaching staff and to myself.”
Haynes also said Antetokounmpo told him he scrubbed his social media not in response to the Bucks’ struggles but had done much of it – including family photos and videos – several weeks earlier because he thought he was putting too much of himself on those platforms.
“He said right now what’s most important in his life is confidentiality and privacy,” Haynes said. “And he referred to an interview that he saw from Michael B. Jordan and Denzel Washington. And in that interview, he said Denzel told Michael B. Jordan that, ‘What is stopping the masses from going to your show? And when they go to your show, are they going to come in droves? Because I can make the case that they already see your social media and so you’re already visible, so why would they go to your shows in droves?’
“He said he looked at it from that standpoint. He said, ‘You know what? I’m deleting all my social media stuff. I’m only leaving a couple championship photos out there. If people want to see me, come to the games and I’ll give you all of me and showcase what I can do.’”
Chris Haynes on Giannis deleting stuff from his social media:
“He did that around 3 or 4 weeks ago. He referred to an interview that he saw from Michael B. Jordan and Denzel Washington” pic.twitter.com/LoExivqLLr
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) December 6, 2025