On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Bucks will kick off their 2025-26 NBA season with a home game against the Washington Wizards. The Bucks threw everything at the wall this offseason and eventually got enough things to stick to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo not to demand a trade, but it's still hard for most pundits to envision Milwaukee taking a step forward from where they were a year ago.
Antetokounmpo is the unquestioned leader of this team, and recently, a leaked video from Bucks practice showed him doing some coaching of his own for his teammates.
“Can't be a tough guy and whine at the same time,” said Antetokounmpo at one point during a scrimmage, when there was a disagreement on whether or not there should have been a foul on a specific play.
(Video via @Heavenlybuckets on X, formerly Twitter).
My GOD Giannis is TALKING to these guys. You don’t even need to see the other angles because you KNOW he’s talking to Kuzma and Portis. This will either make them so much better or make them resentful. Bucks gotta post more of these runs it seems like good bump. https://t.co/wIaFpTIocT pic.twitter.com/O5YeW7BLIl
— Follow HeavenlyBuckets (@Heavenlybuckets) October 21, 2025
While NBA officials who have refereed Antetokounmpo's game might find a smidgen of hypocrisy with his statement, the point remains that Antetokounmpo clearly has full command of the Bucks' locker room heading into this season.
A big year for the Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are essentially putting blind faith into the hope that Antetokounmpo, with his greatness alone, will be able to vault a Motley crew of a roster into contender status in an injury-weakened Eastern Conference.
The Bucks waived Damian Lillard this offseason and used the cap space they acquired temporarily to sign Myles Turner, who had just helped lead the Indiana Pacers to the NBA Finals before laying an egg when they got there, to a contract.
Turner figures to provide a younger and more athletic version of the floor spacing and rim protection that Brook Lopez, now a backup center for the Los Angeles Clippers, brought to Milwaukee for so many years.
Still, the head of the snake is obviously Antetokounmpo, and it will require a 2018 LeBron James-esque effort from him to get this Bucks team into the postseason.
The Bucks and Wizards are set to tip off on Wednesday at 8:00 PM ET.
