WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Wizards weren't supposed to cause a seismic shift in the NBA this season, but their home win over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday might have sparked one.
The Wizards were 2-16 entering the game and were without second-year center Alex Sarr (adductor), No. 6 overall draft pick Tre Johnson (hip), and veteran guard Corey Kispert (thumb), who are averaging a combined 39.5 points this season. Additionally, Sarr is Washington's leading scorer (19.6 points per game), rebounder (8.6 per game), and shot-blocker (two per game), but the Bucks still lost 129-126 despite having all of their main rotation players.
Milwaukee fell to 9-13 after the defeat, and Antetokounmpo wasn't happy. The two-time NBA MVP walked into the Bucks' locker room at least half an hour after veteran guard Kevin Porter Jr., who scored a game-high 30 points (12-15 FG, 5-6 3-point), spoke to the media. Although a superstar taking his time before postgame interviews is commonplace, what happened afterward was anything but.
Antetokounmpo was the presumable pick to be Milwaukee's second interviewee, as he was second on the team with 26 points (10-17 FG, 0-1 3-point) and led with seven rebounds. However, the former NBA champion wagged his finger at Bucks public relations staffers after getting out of the shower, signaling he wasn't up for a conversation. He then sat down with a towel on his head, looking at the floor before getting dressed and leaving, all with a dejected look on his face.
Only Antetokounmpo knows what went through his head in that moment, but he cleared his social media accounts of all Bucks-related content the following morning, per Complex Sports. Then, a breaking news report arrived on Wednesday afternoon, via ESPN's Shams Charania.
“Just in: Giannis Antetokounmpo and his agent Alex Saratsis have started conversations with the Milwaukee Bucks about the two-time NBA MVP's future – and discussing whether his best fit is staying or elsewhere, sources tell ESPN,” he said. “A resolution is expected in the coming weeks.”
Antetokounmpo already thought about leaving Milwaukee before, but it's different this time, per Charania.
“Over the offseason, Antetokounmpo explored external options and was open to playing for one team outside of Milwaukee — the New York Knicks — as a potential trade home,” he reported. “Sources described it as an exclusive negotiating window for the Knicks over a multiweek period in August, but that will not be the case moving forward.”
“Multiple other teams would be expected to emerge as suitors for the nine-time All-Star if trades are explored,” he continued.
Charania also mentioned the Wizards game on “NBA Today.”
“The Bucks are 9-13 overall, and they blew a 16-point lead to the Washington Wizards on Monday,” he said. “I'm told that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been frustrated over the recent losing…I had one source even tell me and describe the situation as the writing on the wall for what's to come with Giannis…”
ESPN's Brian Windhorst then followed up, also on “NBA Today.”
“It'll be Giannis instructing the Bucks where he wants to be traded, and then the Bucks trying to make the best possible deal with that team,” he clarified. “And this already happened, Shams reported this a couple of months ago. You can put out whatever verbiage you want around it, about whether he ‘requested it' or ‘asked for it' or ‘hinted at it,' but he basically said ‘I want to be a Knick. Can you make me a Knick?' And they had discussions for some period of days. Those talks didn't progress, so they dropped it and he reported to [Bucks] camp.”
While Monday's loss in Washington wasn't the start of this saga, that game might have been Antetokounmpo's breaking point.
Wizards gave Giannis Antetokounmpo reality check
The sequence of events suggests that Antetokounmpo grappled with a sobering reality: if Milwaukee can't beat one of the NBA's worst teams despite having the injury advantage, there's little chance it'll challenge for a championship anytime soon.
Anything is possible on a given night, but this wasn't a fluke occurrence. The Bucks had lost seven of their previous eight games, and they're 1-5 without Antetokounmpo this year. Furthermore, the nine-time All-Star didn't have his best outing, as he had a game-high five turnovers and fouled out on Bilal Coulibaly's and-one dunk with 5.4 seconds left. Milwaukee still should've beaten Washington anyway, but it couldn't get the job done without the future Hall of Famer having a flawless performance.
It might have been extra painful to witness Wizards forward Khris Middleton, who was the Robin to Antetokounmpo's Batman on the 2020-21 championship Bucks team, score eight points in the final four minutes. That included a go-ahead three-pointer with 52.9 seconds remaining, which gave Washington a lead it never relinquished.
Regardless, Antetokounmpo's days in Milwaukee appear to be numbered. If the 30-year-old gets dealt ahead of February's NBA Trade Deadline, it will be the league's most consequential trade since the Dallas Mavericks sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package highlighted by Anthony Davis last February.
Antetokounmpo is as prolific as ever, ranking fourth in basketball with 30.6 points per game, seventh with a 63.9 field goal percentage, fifth with 10.7 rebounds, and 17th with 6.4 assists before the Bucks' home date with the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. A contending team acquiring him in the coming weeks would be the biggest story of the season, as it would change the league's power balance and send the Bucks into a full-scale rebuild.
Additionally, Antetokounmpo is under contract until his $62.7 million player option in 2027 (per Spotrac), so whatever organization gets him by the deadline would have at least two chances to win a title with him.
Meanwhile, the Wizards remain focused on their rebuild as they look to maintain their top-eight protected lottery pick next summer, and their upset win over the Bucks is a reminder of what they're capable of. This time, their positive night had unexpected fallout that could define the entire NBA season.
