With the Milwaukee Bucks preparing for the 2025-26 season, the team will once again be led by superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has been surrounded by trade speculation throughout the offseason. As the Bucks star led Greece to a bronze medal at EuroBasket, he also discussed a situation that might make him want to leave a team.
Speaking to a Greek media outlet in the aftermath of EuroBasket, Antetokounmpo was asked if he was at a stage in his career where he might consider joining a different team. While the 30-year-old wouldn't answer it straight up, he did respond that he likes “challenges,” and if the environment he's in leads him to believe they can't “achieve something great,” he doesn't want to be there.
“I’ll say one thing: I like challenges,” Antetokounmpo said, via HoopsHype. “I’ve realized I like living with pressure. Is that good? Bad? I don’t know. If I’m in an environment without pressure, and I don’t believe we can achieve something great, I don’t want to be there. Simple as that.”
“It doesn’t make me happy anymore as a person. When you reach 30, have four kids, and you’re married—I think marriage makes you more mature.”
“I want to do what makes me happy because I think I deserve it, because I’ve worked for it,” Antetokounmpo continued. “What makes me happy is winning and feeling there’s a challenge.”
“To wake up in the morning and say, ‘Man, we have to win today. If we don’t win today, what are we going to hear again?’ That—exactly that feeling.”
Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo on what his role should be
While the basketball world has been questioning what would spark a Bucks trade featuring Antetokounmpo, there was major speculation around the idea in the summer. Now those talks have appeared to die down as Milwaukee has made changes like waiving Damian Lillard and adding Myles Turner and others.
Antetokounmpo also was asked how he would build a team, and he spoke about himself needing to be a “creator.”
“To get the best from the team and from me, I have to be a creator. I need to feel I can create,” Antetokounmpo said, via HoopsHype. “I don’t always need to finish, but I need to feel I’m creating, that I’m part of the team and not just a finisher, not just going in to score 30, take it in the post and have to put it in. That’s when my true self comes out.”
Milwaukee opens the season on Oct. 22 against the Washington Wizards.
