{"id":665448,"date":"2026-03-18T19:51:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/665448\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T19:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:51:27","slug":"giannis-antetokounmpo-reportedly-not-aligned-with-bucks-over-playing-out-the-rest-of-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/665448\/","title":{"rendered":"Giannis Antetokounmpo reportedly not aligned with Bucks over playing out the rest of the season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Milwaukee Bucks and star Giannis Antetokounmpo are reportedly not aligned on whether the forward should play in the team\u2019s final 14 regular-season games. Antetokounmpo, who has already missed 32 games this season due to various injuries, reportedly wants to keep playing<\/a> as the team limps toward its finish, per The Athletic.<\/p>\n

The Bucks have other plans. The team reportedly wants Antetokounmpo to shut it down and sit out the rest of the way. The team sits at 28-40 entering play Wednesday, and is 6.5 games behind the Charlotte Hornets for the final spot in the Play-In Tournament.<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo, 31, has been limited by calf, groin, ankle and knee issues this season. His most recent ailment occurred Sunday, when Antetokounmpo landed awkwardly after a dunk vs. the Indiana Pacers. He was diagnosed with a left knee hyperextension and a bone bruise<\/a> and is expected to miss at least a few more days before being re-evaluated.<\/p>\n

When Antetokounmpo has taken the court this season, he\u2019s produced at an MVP level. In 36 games, Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists.<\/p>\n

Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem: Make your picks for $50K in total prizes<\/a><\/p>\n

But Antetokounmpo\u2019s repeated ailments, combined with the Bucks\u2019 plummeting playoff odds, have put the team in a tough spot with just a few games left. Losing games \u2014 something the team has a better shot to accomplish if Antetokounmpo sits \u2014 would benefit the Bucks at this point, as it could help the team get a better lottery pick.<\/p>\n

The Athletic reached out to the Bucks about the alleged disagreement, with a team source telling the outlet that Antetokounmpo is still injured and not cleared to play at this time.<\/p>\n

The alleged feud comes a month after the Bucks decided to hold onto Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline. That decision came after months of rumors suggesting the Bucks could trade Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n

Those rumors have persisted since the end of last season, when the Bucks were once again eliminated from the playoffs in the first round. Following an injury to Damian Lillard late last season, the Bucks\u2019 future prospects looked bleak, leading some to suggest the team would benefit from trading away Antetokounmpo. While the star forward has never officially asked for a trade, he\u2019s stated he wants to play for a consistent winner.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t look like the Bucks can make that happen in the near future. The team\u2019s current struggles, combined with the alleged rift between it and Antetokounmpo could finally force the team\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

After going through all of last offseason hearing rumors Antetokounmpo would be shipped off, Bucks fans should prepare to experience some d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu once the season comes to an end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Milwaukee Bucks and star Giannis Antetokounmpo are reportedly not aligned on whether the forward should play in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3785],"tags":[7,473,125,123,126,423,121,6,361,422,427,3972],"class_list":{"0":"post-665448","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-utah-jazz","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-charlotte-hornets","10":"tag-damian-lillard","11":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","12":"tag-indiana-pacers","13":"tag-jazz","14":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-the-bucks","17":"tag-utah","18":"tag-utah-jazz","19":"tag-utahjazz"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116251923818565987","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665448","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=665448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}