{"id":582331,"date":"2026-02-04T18:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T18:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/582331\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T18:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T18:05:14","slug":"what-giannis-antetokounmpo-wants-deep-down-as-nba-trade-rumors-swirl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/582331\/","title":{"rendered":"What Giannis Antetokounmpo wants ‘deep down’ as NBA trade rumors swirl"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to ESPN, Giannis Antetokounmpo is \u201cready for a new home.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Giannis Antetokounmpo, he doesn\u2019t want to go anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I want deep down in my heart is I want to be a Milwaukee Buck for the rest of my career and win here,\u201d Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Trade rumors have intensified surrounding the Greek Freak ahead of Thursday\u2019s deadline, with the Knicks among the interested suitors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since the Bucks won an NBA championship in 2021, they were knocked out in the second round in 2022 and then bounced in the first round each of the last three postseasons.<\/p>\n

\"GiannisGiannis Antetokoumpo Getty Images<\/p>\n

Milwaukee entered Wednesday at 19-29, 3.5 games behind the Bulls for the final spot in the NBA play-in tournament.<\/p>\n

At 31, few outside Milwaukee would blame Antetokounmpo for wanting out to try to chase another ring. <\/p>\n

But Antetokounmpo, who says he has \u201czero\u201d input on the Bucks\u2019 trade talks about him, doesn\u2019t sound like someone who wants to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here when I was 18. A human being, when is the time they have their earliest memories? Around the age of what, 4, 5, right? So from 5 to 18 is 13 years. From the time I could remember. I came here from 18 to 31, which is 13 years. I\u2019ve spent more time in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, than in my country,\u201d he told the Journal Sentinel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve created more memories in this city than in my country. The only memory I knew from my country is sell stuff in the street, go to practice, live in fear, protect my brothers as much as I can and be a good kid, be a kind kid.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo here, I\u2019ll tell you what I\u2019ve known here. I\u2019ve known what it is to be an NBA player, what it is to make it to the NBA. I\u2019ve learned what it is to be an all-star player. I\u2019ve learned how to be a champion. I\u2019ve learned how to be an MVP. I\u2019ve learned how to be a father. I got married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And also, legally, from the courthouse. And also, I\u2019ve had my kids here. My father is buried here. So tell me you, when I open the passport of my kids and it says born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, my dad is buried here, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo people have the audacity to come tell me and say, \u2018This guy really doesn\u2019t love Milwaukee.\u2019 I don\u2019t love Milwaukee? Not the people that know. The people of the city know how much I love them. This city has let me be myself, let me be father, have let me [be] a husband, have let me be my own, true self.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m walking in the street. People don\u2019t bother me. But there\u2019s gonna be the whole other people, because here\u2019s 8 billion people in this world that have their own opinion. Opinions are cheap, that\u2019s why everybody has one.<\/p>\n

\"BucksBucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives against the Hawks\u2019 Onyeka Okongwu (17) on Jan. 19, 2026. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThey let me be myself in this city. And I ask for one thing. One. Thing. Only. To make, bring joy back. To. This. City. Because this city deserves it. We\u2019ve been at the top and I know we can have down years but we have to continue to have the mindset. Period. OK. And if that\u2019s not the case, then \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen the love of the people and what they wish for me. If it\u2019s not the case, and people have different agendas within our own team, something gotta change. That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the Bucks aren\u2019t going to be in a position to compete for a championship, however, then Antetokounmpo is open to playing elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask me what do I really want, deep down in my heart? I want to be a Milwaukee Buck until I retire and win a championship here. End of sentence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that is not possible to happen, and if then you realize maybe that\u2019s not the case and maybe they\u2019re looking elsewhere and that\u2019s not what they\u2019re trying to do, then automatically you have to be in the plans of what they\u2019re trying to do or weigh the other options. It\u2019s normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two-time MVP has missed the last four games with a calf injury. He\u2019s averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 30 games this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"According to ESPN, Giannis Antetokounmpo is \u201cready for a new home.\u201d According to Giannis Antetokounmpo, he doesn\u2019t want…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,123,121,6,2828,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-582331","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","10":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-nba-trade-deadline","13":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}