For most NBA teams, Monday was media day, which marks the beginning of training camp for them. But for the Milwaukee Bucks, their main man was nowhere to be seen.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, their franchise player and two-time league MVP, wasn’t present for media day. But there was a reason why, according to general manager Jon Horst.
Per Doug Russell, Horst announced that Antetokounmpo is absent because he had contracted COVID-19. However, the superstar made himself available later on via Zoom.
“GM Jon Horst announces that Giannis has contracted COVID and is not at Media Day in person. Added that Giannis hopes to be able to have a media availability via Zoom,” Russell wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
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“I’m just waiting for a negative test, so I can leave my house and get on a plane and travel,” a clearly under-the-weather Antetokounmpo said when he joined the Bucks’ media day stream remotely via Zoom, per Yahoo Sports. “I don’t want to put anybody at risk.
“I’m definitely disappointed — bummed out that I’m not able to be there with the team and get this ball rolling. As a leader, I don’t feel good about this, but at the end of the day, this is life.”
Antetokounmpo is reportedly still in Greece. He represented his national team during EuroBasket 2025 a few weeks ago, and he played well, averaging 27.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists a game while leading Greece to a third-place finish.
Of course, the million-dollar question that has been hanging over the Bucks for months now is whether Antetokounmpo will remain with them beyond the next handful of months. He was said to be considering whether he would ask to be traded, since the team doesn’t seem to have a pathway to return to championship contention.
Nine-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard, whom the Bucks traded for two years ago, was supposed to be one of the final pieces. But he tore his Achilles during the 2025 NBA Playoffs, and the Bucks waived him in early July, paving the way for him to return to the Portland Trail Blazers.
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Antetokounmpo is under contract for three more seasons, and he can opt out of his contract to become a free agent in the summer of 2027. If he wants to, he could have plenty of leverage not too long from now when it comes to requesting a trade.