Giannis Antetokounmpo questions NBA’s 65-game rule, warning injuries can quickly derail award races for top stars.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo speaks on the NBA's 65-game rule for postseason awards. Antetokounmpo is close to becoming ineligible.

There has been some form of trade chatter surrounding Giannis for years, with the refrain from the star always being that he loves Milwaukee and wants to be there, but that his main priority is winning championships. The Bucks responded to that by taking some huge swings on the trade market to appease that desire to varying results.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks got the best of LeBron James in the Lakers in their last meeting of this season, and in the potential last meeting

Giannis Antetokounmpo explains why his jersey swap with LeBron James carried meaning after a rare Bucks-Lakers showdown.

Friday's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks was billed as a matchup between LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, two of the biggest living legends currently playing in the NBA. In fact, it was the first time both squared off in a regular-season game since Dec. 2, 2022.

Milwaukee improves to 17–21 with the win, putting them a half-game out of the final play-in tournament spot. The Bucks are 5–2 since Antetokounmpo returned to the lineup just after Christmas, after missing much of December with a calf strain.

The idea of pairing Giannis Antetokounmpo with Ja Morant is seductive, but the financial and basketball realities suggest Milwaukee should resist the temptation.