Bucks’ disappointing finish leads to an uncertain offseason regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The postseason is starting without the Milwaukee Bucks for the first time in a decade.

How soon Milwaukee gets back to the playoffs could depend on an offseason that’s shaping up to be among the most critical in franchise history due to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s uncertain future.

Has the two-time MVP played his last game in a Bucks uniform?

“I don’t know,” Antetokounmpo said Sunday after a 126-106 loss at Philadelphia that capped the Bucks’ 32-50 season. “It’s not up to me. We’ll see.”

Antetokounmpo, 31, has spent his entire 13-year career in Milwaukee, which selected the 6-foot-11 forward with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their first title in half a century in 2021, and he owns franchise career records in virtually every major statistical category.

He’s eligible to become a free agent after next season if he doesn’t sign a four-year, $275 million contract extension in October. Or the Bucks could trade him beforehand if they don’t believe he will sign that extension. That uncertainty helps explain why Antetokounmpo was the center of attention at this season’s trade deadline though the Bucks ultimately kept him.