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Giannis Antetokounmpo has nothing else left to prove in his career; he could have retired yesterday and he'd be a lock for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. But Antetokounmpo has said in the past that he wants to win as many championships as he can, and he would prefer to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks in doing so. However, he could not be any further right now from another championship, as the Indiana Pacers have them in the ropes in the first round of the playoffs after taking a 129-103 win in Game 4, extending their lead in the series to 3-1.
Make no mistake about it, Antetokounmpo remains one of the most brilliant players in the association and can win any team a championship as its best player. But right now, the Bucks haven't really been providing him with the help he needs, which is reflected in his poor record over his past few playoff games.
As pointed out by Keerthika Uthayakumar of TSN, the Bucks have now gone just 1-8 over the last nine playoff games that Antetokounmpo has played in despite averaging 30.4 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in those contests.
The Bucks' horrid luck began in 2023 when they fell apart in the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat despite being the one-seed. This prompted Milwaukee to make major changes which, quite frankly, haven't worked according to plan. Letting go of Jrue Holiday was a disaster for their defense, trading Khris Middleton away for Kyle Kuzma was such a painful deal that hasn't paid off, and overall, the Bucks' roster is old and unable to keep up with the championship demands of today.
It should not come as a surprise to anyone if Antetokounmpo, a superstar deemed by many to be a potential one-team player, asks out with the Bucks' long-term outlook looking quite dire in the aftermath of Damian Lillard's feared Achilles tear.
Does Giannis Antetokounmpo's steps to success include a trade from the Bucks?
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the kind of player any GM would want to hold on to for as long as possible instead of trading away. But the Bucks have scarcely any resources to improve the roster moving forward. They don't have too many future first-round picks, and their main trade pieces, such as Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis, don't seem to have too much value.
Antetokounmpo's loyalty will be put to the test this offseason; will he want to stick around in Milwaukee even though his beloved Bucks are on track to exit the playoffs in the first round for the third consecutive year.
