Latest Giannis Rumors Reveal Bucks Star's Goal for Injury Return amid NBA Investigation

Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Alex Antetokounmpo each saw playing time in the Milwaukee Bucks' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

And their famous brother reportedly wants to join them on the court before the 2025-26 campaign comes to an end despite the NBA's investigation into the team's handling of Giannis Antetokounmpo's injury status.

"Giannis is trying to ramp up this week from my understanding," ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday (1:30 mark). "You look at Friday's home finale potentially … he does want to play with his brothers. He wants to play with his brothers before the regular season ends. He's making it very clear behind the scenes that's his goal."

Antetokounmpo did not play from Jan. 23 until March 2, and he has once again been out since a March 15 victory over the Indiana Pacers. At this point, the Bucks are eliminated from playoff contention and playing out the string on a lost season.

If anything, it might be better for the team's long-term perspective to lose the final four games on its schedule to improve its overall draft standing, and having a star player like Antetokounmpo return would diminish those prospects.

But the 10-time All-Star wants to take the court again this season.

"He wants to play, the Bucks want him to shut down," Charania explained.

"The league office has had two different sides of the story. The Bucks are telling the NBA, 'hey, we told Giannis he can do three-on-three for return-to-play protocol. Giannis, from my understanding, is telling the Bucks, 'I'm available, I'm healthy. The Bucks never asked me to play three-on-three.'"

This comes after the National Basketball Players Association released a statement that criticized the NBA for not enforcing the player participation policy in regards to the situation in Milwaukee:

The NBA also previously punished the Indiana Pacers and Utah Jazz for apparent tanking violations earlier this season.

At this point, the relationship between the Bucks and Antetokounmpo is the biggest large-picture issue with the entire situation. He is under contract through 2026-27 with a player option for 2027-28, and he was at the center of trade rumors leading up to this season's deadline.

Whether he remains with the team for the rest of that contract remains to be seen, but there is an apparent disagreement between the two sides at this point.