Has Giannis Antetokounmpo played his last game for the Bucks?

When Damian Lillard sat on the ground in the middle of a playoff game, grabbing his left foot, the implications were larger than the heartbreaking reality of a 34 -year -old star who faces an injury that is known to alter races.

The torn Achilles tendon let Lillard suffered in game 4 of the first round playoff series of the Milwaukee Bucks against Indiana will probably change the future of the franchise.

Now, with Lillard facing a legal rehabilitation and any hope that the Bucks win a championship next season, almost displaced, the team has to decide what to do with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Is it time to trade with him and rebuild?

Antetokounmppo, an MVP twice that took the Bucks to a championship in 2021, told the New York Times in August 2023 that if he believed that “everyone goes to a championship … I’m not signing [a contract extension]. “The following month, the Bucks completed an exchange of great success for Lillard. And a few weeks later, Antekounmppo agreed a three -year agreement and $ 186 million with Milwaukee.

Although last season it was a bust, with the bucks eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in the midst of injuries in the team’s superstars, Hope remained. If both were healthy, the dollars loop Be great. They only needed time to develop more chemistry. And they needed a little luck for both on the court.

Now, there is what happens yes.

Bucks have no chance without Lillard; Not with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the current Boston Celtics champion, foam in the mouth to bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy. So what will come first? Is Antetokounmpo to request an exchange or the Bucks will renounce the white flag, and use one of the best players in the league as a barter chip to obtain a young talent?

What is clear is that the dam is about to break, and the Bucks are in the innvenable position of three consecutive first -round playoff exits next to a 30 -year -old megaestrella that has made his patience run out.

Bucks cannot remain competitive while waiting for Lillard’s return, not with two players in Supermax and Bucks contracts are not in a position to rebuild the Draft.

It is a pity that considers how much Antetokoumnpo has made it clear that he loves Milwaukee, the team that selected him with the 15th general selection in the 2013 Draft and helped transform him from a torn teenager into a scandalous champion nicknamed “

It is also a shame for Lillard, who told Fox Sports during the training camp in September that last season was “the most difficult year of my life.” Not only was he adjusting to Bee exchanged from a Portland Trail Blazer team with which she had her entire 11 season career, but she was also dealing with the mental anggy of a divorce of her wife, with whom she shares three children.

This season, Lillard expected things to be different. He had his body and mind well, pouring into a strict training regime and eating while surrounding himself as a family every time he could. And for the next seven months, it seemed that he and Antetokoumnpo were finally discovering how to become the coup one-two that the rest of the league feared they would leave, ensuring the fifth seed after an unstable start.

But his rise on the staircase of the east conference was treated by Lillard who lost a month with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He returned a lot to Soner of what was expected in game 2 against the Pacers, but only two games later, suffered the torn Achilles tendon.

“I feel bad about [Lillard]”Bucks coach, Doc Rivers, told journalists.” The guy tried to return to his team. This is difficult: a blood clot followed by this. It is difficult. That is why you have teammates and relatives around them. It is a great type at the basketball level, but more important as a teammate, father and all that. No one deserves it. “

Now, bucks are in a difficult position.

After winning the title in 2021, they have tried to return to the top of the League, but they have failed.

They accumulated coach Mike Budenholzer after his first round out in 2023. Then they fired Adrian Griffin after 43 games before hiring Ríos. Jrue’s holidays changed to acquire Lillard. They treated Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma, who has had a lower performance than this postseason.

But they have fallen repeatedly on their faces, with their loss of extra time 119-118 against the Pacers in game 5 on Tuesday, throwing them back to summer vacations months before they had expected.

Of course, the Bucks have had some bad breaks. Middleton suffered a duration of the knee sprain The first round of the Playoffs 2022. Antetokounmpo suffered a duration of the back injury in the 2023 postseason and was marginalized during all the playoffs of 2024 due to a calf injury. And Lillard lost two playoff games the last postseason due to an Achilles tendon injury before the devastating blows of this year.

Everything has led to the bits are on the edge.

Lillard is out. Antetokounmpo is disappointed. And the Bucks will be forced to make some difficult decisions, potentially separate from the player who put them on the map.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for Fox Sports. She previously covered the Sports Illustrated League, the Los Angeles Times, the news group from the Bay area and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @Melissarohlin.

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