National Basketball Association

One and Done

Published Feb. 18, 2020 6:05 p.m. ET

Giannis Antetokounmpo – albeit subtly – has had an interesting past few days.

During a frantic fourth quarter at Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, the reigning MVP was a bit of a no-show offensively.

After the game, he gave Milwaukee Bucks fans exactly what they wanted, showing love for his teammates and for the franchise of which he's the face.

Then, on Tuesday, he said this:

Giannis has officially placed us all in a glass case of emotion.

There is something behind this, and it could be that for the first time in Giannis' seven-year career, he feels the weight of winning a title, swiftly crashing down on him.

And rightfully so, considering this season might be his only season to win the ultimate prize in Milwaukee.

There is no reason the Bucks shouldn't make it to the NBA Finals this season.

As Chris Broussard mentioned, all of Milwaukees challengers have been affected by injury (Brooklyn), are still relying heavily on young talent (Boston), are lacking cohesion (Philadelphia), or were affected by free agency (Toronto).

Next season, presumably, all of those perceived problems will be fixed.

Boston's young superstar, Jayson Tatum, will have another year of experience under his belt. Philadelphia will trade either Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid, or force them to get along. Toronto will still be Toronto, with Pascal Siakam officially serving as their superstar two years removed from Kawhi's departure.

And, this will finally happen:

Let's not forget that just last season, a duo of Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard knocked off the Bucks in six games, after losing the first two in Milwaukee.

Is it safe to assume that Durant and Irving are capable of the same success?

Well, the chemistry is already there.

Giannis and the Bucks need to strike while the iron is hot.

Because next year, this league is going to heat up.

Now, on to that whole I-might-join-my-brother-in-Hollywood thing.

NBA players deserve to play where they want, but for the most part, guys leave when their current franchises aren't able to provide them the talent necessary to compete for a title.

But that's not the case in Milwaukee.

46-8

Milwaukee's current record, which is the best in the NBA and puts them on a 70-win pace

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Bucks are the best team in the NBA by 4.5 games.

They are making history nightly.

Last season, they finished with the best record in the NBA at 60-22.

They have another All-Star in Khris Middleton.

Why would Giannis leave in free agency? How could he leave?

Giannis' connection with his brothers is well-documented and certainly seems to be an incredible bond.

If he were to ever leave Milwaukee to team up with one of his siblings, who could blame him? That's a once in a lifetime opportunity, and he might feel like has to take advantage of it...

...similar to the once in a lifetime opportunity to win an NBA championship he needs to take advantage of this season.