The buzz was building all week long.
Numerous NBA front offices began operating under the belief in recent days — arguably with greater conviction than ever before — that a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade before the league’s Feb. 5 trade deadline at 3 PM ET had become unexpectedly possible.
Wasn’t it just Jan. 8, only two weeks and change ago, that Antetokounmpo loudly insisted that he would never ask for a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks? Didn’t those statements expressed to The Athletic’s Sam Amick signal that Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee would not be decided until the offseason at the earliest?
Somehow such sentiments melted away quickly in the heart of this frigid winter. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday … whispers circulating throughout the league that suggested Antetokounmpo could indeed still be traded before the in-season buzzer got louder and louder.
Then on Friday night, in the Bucks’ home date with Denver, Antetokounmpo suddenly sustained another worrisome calf injury.
NBA on Prime@NBAonPrime
“I’m gonna work my butt off to come back.”
Giannis has an idea of what his MRI results on his calf injury will be.
6:30 AM · Jan 24, 2026 · 3.29K Views
4 Reposts · 37 Likes
Giannis himself said he expects to be sidelined by this latest setback with his right calf for at least four to six weeks … well beyond the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Marc Stein@TheSteinLine
Three players who have generated an overwhelming percentage of this season’s NBA trade chatter — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and Ja Morant — are now all sidelined by injury beyond the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
5:11 PM · Jan 24, 2026 · 23.6K Views
8 Replies · 19 Reposts · 100 Likes
So what happens from here on this roller-coaster ride? Let’s mow through everything we’ve heard in recent days and the next steps post-injury:
