Watching the Dallas Mavericks trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers after the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals in 2024 had a significant impact on former Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo. And after a disappointing 2025-26 season, where the Bucks failed to reach the playoffs, the writing was on the wall for Antetokounmpo.
However, Doncic’s trade to the Lakers stunned Antetokounmpo to the point that it made him realize how much control a superstar truly has in the NBA, he thought, per The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Owczarski.
“In a way, for Antetokounmpo, pushing ownership to its limits flipped the script, verifying the organization’s belief in him. That changed in February 2025 with the surprise trade of Dallas star Luka Doncic to the Lakers, which crystallized in Antetokounmpo’s mind how little real control superstars had,” Owczarski reported. “So, Antetokounmpo began to separate himself. One step was physical. For years, he haphazardly collected his trophies at his suburban Milwaukee home.
“But in the 2025 offseason, he packed them up and took them to Greece.”
Antetokounmpo wasn’t sure how things would unfold and felt his future with the Bucks was uncertain ahead of the 2025-26 season, setting a tone that summer and leading to a series of offseason moves that left the two-time MVP perplexed. Milwaukee waived veteran guard Damian Lillard and traded Pat Connaughton to the Charlotte Hornets, thus creating salary cap space.
However, Brook Lopez signed with the LA Clippers via free agency. So, the Bucks inked Myles Turner, coming off an NBA Finals appearance with the Indiana Pacers, to a multi-year deal worth $108 million, which is the largest free agency signing in franchise history.
It was as if the Mavericks’ trade of Luka Doncic to the Lakers was a glimpse of what could happen with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. This would be the first offseason of Antetokounmpo’s career where the Bucks made significant roster moves without saying a word to him. Still, after a brief talk with coach Doc Rivers ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, Antetokounmpo agreed to give it one more season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his former Bucks teammates
While it’s difficult to pinpoint how the Bucks could have salvaged their future with Giannis Antetokounmpo over the years, one common thread throughout has been the drastic roster changes he endured since 2021’s title run. They never came close to returning to the NBA Finals or the Eastern Conference Finals, for that matter. Piece by piece, the Bucks traded away their championship core, starting with Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard, and ending with an injury-riddled two-season run from Khris Middleton, which led to his departure.
All of a sudden, an identity that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks spent half of a decade to build had faded. Antetokounmpo ultimately had to separate himself from the front office, as he watched things play out from a distance, as The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Owczarski noted.
“These moves looked solid on paper, but you don’t appreciate how much Khris, Brook, Jrue, Pat, the character, the high-level basketball character of those guys,” a longtime employee said. “You don’t appreciate it until you don’t have them around and you’ve got some guys in their stead who leave a lot to be desired in that area.”
By the end of the season, a split between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks felt inevitable.
When Giannis Antetokounmpo felt his time with the Bucks was over
Heat All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo felt his time was over with the Bucks over a year ago. Months after the Mavericks shockingly traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, the Bucks’ playoff run ended in a disappointing way due to a slew of injuries. However, perhaps it was the offseason trades that threw Antetokounmpo for a loop, so much so that it felt like the two-time MVP was just going through the motions amidst the 2025-26 campaign.
Antetokounmpo reportedly knew his time with the Bucks had run its course by the end of the season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“This was a 13-month trade saga for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks,” Charania said. “To put it plainly, Giannis felt like his time was up with the Bucks a calendar year ago. The Bucks, at every turn, did everything they could to try to keep him. They fought for this right until the end, with Giannis, to try to win around him. They depleted their assets. Their salary books as well. But Giannis informed the team numerous times that it was time to move on from the team.”
"Giannis felt like his time was up with the Bucks a calendar year ago."@ShamsCharania breaks down the Giannis blockbuster trade to Miami
pic.twitter.com/GST1m57FZ8
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 23, 2026
After a bidding war between the Heat and the Celtics for Antetokounmpo, the Heat’s package ultimately won out over the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown-led proposal. The Bucks traded Giannis, along with Bobby Portis, joining Antetokounmpo in the packaged deal for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, including the No. 13 pick in this week’s draft, one pick swap, and one second-round pick.
The post How Mavericks’ Luka Doncic trade impacted Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of Bucks trade request appeared first on ClutchPoints.
