“It’s so ridiculous. And I’ve heard all these reports, you hear all this stuff but you don’t like it when you hear it because you know it’s not true, Bill,” said Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers when addressing the trade rumors revolving around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Recent reports from league sources have claimed that Giannis will remain in Milwaukee, “valuing continuity and family comfort”. Despite this, the speculation about him leaving the Bucks have not gone away, with reporters like Andy Bailey speculating on potential trade proposals. While Giannis has not publicly highlighted his decision, or thought process, the presence of certain people at the player’s recent EuroBasket 2025 game raises hopes for Bucks fans.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Team Greece is currently facing off against Italy in Group C action in Cyprus. As social media users highlighted, Doc Rivers, and Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham were amongst the people in attendance for the matchup! Sitting between them was also John Horst, the general manager of Giannis’s NBA team. The trio flew all the way from America to see Giannis in action, showing that the Bucks front office stands behind ‘The Greek Freak’.

That wasn’t the only gesture from the NBA team. A few minutes ago, the official X account of FIBA EuroBasket use a ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ meme and wrote “Live look at the admin trying post the Giannis highlight before the next Giannis highlight happens. 😬”. The official X account of the Milwaukee Bucks responded to this tweet by writing “Can relate. 😂”.”

The appearance of the Bucks front office came amidst recent reports from sources like the ‘Dallas Hoop Journal’ that Giannis Antetokounmpo is predicted to request a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2025-26 NBA Season. According to NBA writer Grant Hughes, Giannis Antetokounmpo has typically applied pressure to the Bucks in the offseason, and “he did again this year by leaving his future plans undefined”. The reporter held the opinion that ‘The Greek Freak’ is “going to see the writing on the wall during the 2025-26 campaign”. Shams Charania reported that, as of early August 2025, “there is nothing set in stone about whether Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to stay in Milwaukee or whether he wants to leave elsewhere”. Given this speculation, allowing the Bucks front office to view his games and show support to him seems a positive sign.

It wasn’t surprising that Doc Rivers was among the people who flew all the way to Europe to support the 9x NBA All-Star. After all, as earlier reports revealed, the Bucks were looking to take advantage of the bond between the coach and the player.

Marc Stein Claimed The Bucks Relied On Doc Rivers To Keep Giannis Antetokounmpo In The Team

Back in late May, NBA reporter Marc Stein discussed the possibility of Giannis Antetokounmpo staying in Milwaukee. ‘The Greek Freak’ had just signed a 3-year, $186 million extension. However, the Bucks’ elimination from the first round of the playoffs for 3 years in a row raised doubts about the player’s future with the team. As a result, according to the renowned reporter, the Bucks front office might have turned to the one person who can persuade Giannis to stay: Doc Rivers.

“The Bucks are also hoping that the presence of Rivers as coach can provide some sort of boost,” Stein wrote. “Antetokounmpo and Rivers are believed to have a strong working relationship, which Rivers — annoyed as he clearly was to be greeted by paparazzi outside of a Beverly Hills restaurant a few days ago — apparently tried to convey by telling TMZ: ‘I talk to him all the time.’”

If the past is an indication, then Doc Rivers is surely someone whom ‘The Greek Freak’ respects. Giannis even once defended his team’s head coach by saying, “Doc is doing his best, he’s trying. He’s trying to figure out the rotation; he’s giving us the best speech possible. Changing our defensive plan, changing our offensive plan. He’s trying to adjust, make something happen, create a spark.” Furthermore, Giannis reportedly had a better relationship with Rivers than he did with his previous coach, Adrian Griffin.

Was Doc Rivers’ presence at the Team Greece vs Team Italy a simple show of support, or was it part of the team’s reported efforts to convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.