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When Damian Lillard sat on the ground in the middle of a playoff game, grabbing at his left foot, the implications were larger than the heartbreaking reality of a 34-year-old star facing an injury that has been known to alter careers.
The torn left Achilles tendon that Lillard suffered in Game 4 of the Milwaukee Bucks‘ first-round playoff series against Indiana will likely change the franchise’s future.
Now, with Lillard facing a lengthy rehabilitation and any hopes of the Bucks winning a championship next season all but dashed, the team has to decide what to do with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Is it time to trade him and rebuild?
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Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP who led the Bucks to a championship in 2021, told the New York Times in August 2023 that if he didn’t believe that “everybody’s going for a championship … I’m not signing [a contract extension].” The following month, the Bucks completed a blockbuster trade for Lillard. And a few weeks later, Antetokounmpo agreed to a three-year, $186 million deal with Milwaukee.
Even though last season was a bust, with the Bucks getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs amid injuries to the team’s superstars, hope remained. If they were both healthy, the Bucks could be great. They just needed time to develop more chemistry. And they needed a little luck to both be on the court.
Now, there are no what ifs.
Is it panic time for the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future in doubt? | Breakfast Ball
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The Bucks have no chance without Lillard; not with the Cleveland Cavaliers and reigning champion Boston Celtics foaming at the mouth to bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy. So, what’s going to come first? Is Antetokounmpo going to request a trade or are the Bucks going to waive the white flag, and use one of the best players in the league as a bartering chip to get some young talent?
What’s clear is the dam is about to break, with the Bucks being in the untenable position of facing three straight first-round playoff exits alongside a 30-year-old megastar who has made it clear that his patience is running thin.
The Bucks can’t remain competitive while waiting out Lillard’s return, not with two players on supermax contracts and the Bucks not in a position to rebuild through the draft.
It’s a shame considering how much Antetokoumnpo has made it clear that he loves Milwaukee, the team that selected him with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft and helped transform him from a gangly teenager into a chiseled champion nicknamed “The Greek Freak.”
It’s also a shame for Lillard, who told FOX Sports during training camp in September that last season was “the toughest year of my life.” Not only was he adjusting to being traded from a Portland Trail Blazers team with which he had spent his entire 11-season career, but he was also dealing with the mental anguish of a divorce from his wife, with whom he shares three children.
This season, Lillard hoped things would be different. He got his body and mind right, pouring himself into a strict training and eating regimen while surrounding himself with family whenever he could. And over the next seven months, it seemed as though he and Antetokoumnpo were finally figuring out how to become the one-two punch the rest of the league feared they could become, clinching the fifth-seed after a shaky start.
But their ascent up the Eastern Conference ladder was waylaid by Lillard missing a month with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He returned much sooner than expected in Game 2 against the Pacers – but just two games later, he suffered the torn Achilles’ tendon.
“I feel bad for [Lillard],” Bucks coach Doc Rivers told reporters. “The guy tried to come back for his team. This is a tough one: a blood clot followed by this. It’s just tough. That’s why you have teammates and family around him. He’s just a great freaking dude on the basketball level but more important as a teammate, a father and all that stuff. No one deserves it.”
Now, the Bucks are in a tough position.
After winning the title in 2021, they’ve constantly tried to get back atop the league but have failed.
They fired coach Mike Budenholzer after their first-round exit in 2023. They then fired Adrian Griffin after 43 games. They traded Jrue Holiday to acquire Lillard. They dealt Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma, who has underperformed this postseason.
But they’re yet again on the brink of a first-round playoff elimination against the Pacers.
Sure, the Bucks have had some bad breaks. Middleton suffered a knee sprain during the first round of the 2022 playoffs. Antetokounmpo sustained a back injury during the 2023 postseason and was sidelined for the entire 2024 playoffs because of a calf injury. And Lillard missed two playoff games last postseason because of an Achilles’ tendon injury before this year’s devastating blows.
It has all led to the Bucks being pushed to the edge.
Lillard is out. Antetokounmpo is disillusioned. And the Bucks are going to be forced to make some tough decisions, potentially parting ways with the player who put them on the map.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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