After news broke that the Milwaukee Bucks and star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo are reportedly in strife over his outlook moving forward, the National Basketball Players Association has decided to chime in.
"The Player Participation Policy was designed by the league to hold teams accountable and ensure that when an all-star like Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy and ready to play, he is on the court," the NPBA said in a statement, per ESPN's Shams Charania on Tuesday.
The organization's message came after Charania reported last week that the Bucks had requested that the two-time MVP be shut down for the rest of the season, to which he refused in hopes of playing again.
"There have been multiple meetings over Antetokounmpo's status in the last 24 hours since his hyperextended knee diagnosis, and a disagreement has ensued between the sides on whether it is best for him to return," Charania wrote.
The Greek superstar suffered a knee and a bone bruise in a win over the Indiana Pacers last week after landing awkwardly when he dunked late in the third quarter. Since then, Antetokounmpo — averaging 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 36 appearances — has already missed four consecutive games.
It appears to be just a matter of time before the Bucks, 11th in the East, are officially eliminated from post-season contention and fall short of a 10th consecutive playoff berth.
"Unfortunately, anti-tanking policies are only as effective as their enforcement," the NBPA statement continued, according to Charania. "Fans, broadcast partners, and the integrity of the game itself will continue to suffer as long as ownership goes unchecked. We look forward to collaborating with the NBA on meaningful new proposals that will directly address and discourage tanking."
The Bucks have the ninth-worst record in the NBA and hold a 17.3 per cent chance of landing in the top four following the NBA draft lottery in May. Ironically, despite allegedly trying to help their odds by sitting Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee has little control over the matter, as the Atlanta Hawks are owed the more favourable first-round pick in the 2026 draft between the Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans, who own the eighth-worst record in the NBA.
As for Antetokounmpo, the 31-year-old is in the first season of a three-year, $175.4-million deal, owed an average salary of $58.5 million over that span, including a $62.8-million player option in 2027-28. With the Bucks middling in mediocrity and in need of a reset, it's unclear if Antetokounmpo is long for the only team he's ever known in the NBA.
The NBPA didn't stop there, also releasing a statement on Detroit Pistons' star guard Cade Cunningham.
The 24-year-old was recently diagnosed with a collapsed lung and now faces an unclear timeline for return, putting his eligibility for end-of-season awards in jeopardy. Cunningham has appeared in 61 games — averaging 24.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 9.9 assists and 1.5 steals — which puts him four games short of the 65-game threshold.
"Cade Cunningham's potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries," the NBPA said, per the Ringer's Howard Beck.
The two-time all-star has spearheaded the Pistons to the No. 1 seed in the East through most of the season and has bolstered the league's No. 2 defence behind only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Cunningham is also one of many star players this season on the cusp of missing out on end-of-season accolades because of injuries. Nikola Jokic, Devin Booker, Kawhi Leonard, Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards can each miss only five or fewer games before they are ineligible.
"Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honours by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota," the NBPA finished its statement with.
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