It’s been only a few months since the day the NBA was “shocked.” Luka Dončić, one of the league’s biggest stars, was traded without even knowing it, moving within hours from Dallas and the Mavericks to Los Angeles and the Lakers, next to LeBron James.

If the NBA could do that to a player of Dončić’s caliber, why wouldn’t teams do it again? Ever since that day — February 2, 2025 — everything has felt different. Many analysts have argued that the next superstar to be traded could be Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Since then, countless rumors have circulated linking him to various teams. The New York Knicks appear most often, but the Lakers, the Blazers, Houston, the Spurs, and others have also been mentioned.

Giannis insists he loves the Bucks, but every year the team performs worse. Milwaukee brought him into the NBA, and he gave them the 2021 NBA championship and the 2024 NBA Cup. Before Giannis, the Bucks hadn’t won a title since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 1971 team.

The bond is strong — but that doesn’t mean the Greek superstar, who turns 31 on December 6th, will spend his entire career watching the Bucks stuck in mediocrity.

For three straight seasons, Milwaukee has been eliminated in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs — twice by the Pacers, once by the Heat.

This year things look even worse. After 22 games, the Bucks are living a nightmare with 13 losses and only 9 wins, sitting 11th in the East. They’ve lost 8 of their last 9 games. Giannis missed four due to injury, but he was on the court for their worst defeat.

Against the 3–16 Wizards, Milwaukee led 81–65 in the third quarter (+16) and still lost 129–126 to the league’s worst team.

Giannis, who recently surpassed 21,000 career points and is targeting Larry Bird’s 21,791, scored 26 points in that loss but couldn’t save his team. At one point, cameras even caught him pleading with referees to call a foul.

All of this has revived the theory that this may be his last season in Milwaukee. Many analysts believe a trade could happen before the deadline (February 5), and the Lakers rumors have already started.

But Giannis himself fueled speculation. Just hours after the loss to the Wizards, he deleted nearly all Bucks-related photos from his Instagram and Twitter accounts — keeping only two: one from the 2021 championship and one from the 2024 Cup.

On Twitter, he now only describes himself as an “NBA athlete.” The word “Bucks” appears nowhere. Is he acting emotionally out of frustration? Sending a message that the end is near? Time will tell. Giannis has always respected — and will continue to respect — the team that made him a star.

His oldest remaining post, one of thirteen that weren’t deleted, is from 2015. It says: “Follow your dreams and believe in yourself.” Maybe that message is meant for 2025 as well.

On Twitter, everything up to 2021 has been erased except a single post about Kobe Bryant wearing a Lakers jersey — which immediately sparked new trade rumors connecting Giannis to LA. But financially, a trade seems unlikely: Giannis is owed an average of $58.4 million annually over the next three years, a figure difficult for the Lakers to match.

Still, this winter is expected to be “hot.” Giannis sees that even with changes, the Bucks remain far from being true contenders again.

The unofficial trading period begins on December 15. This season, he earns $54 million from Milwaukee, rising to $58 million next year.