The subject caused Marques Johnson to smile. He hardly seemed stressed over an topic that will define the Milwaukee Bucks’ long-term future and fuel speculation throughout the 2025-26 season.

Will Giannis Antetokounmpo remain committed to the Milwaukee Bucks, or will he eventually ask for a trade?

“People don’t understand about Giannis’ loyalty,” Marques Johnson told EssentiallySports. “That’s the thing that’s going to supersede everything else.”

Antetokounmpo has suggested he wants to end his basketball career in his native Greece. He has also hinted that his commitment to the franchise may hinge on if they remain in championship contention in the 2025-26 season.

Johnson, an analyst for the Bucks’ television broadcasts on Fox Sports Wisconsin, hardly viewed Antetokounmpo’s comments as threats. Instead, Johnson believed Antetokounmpo simply is trying to prod the front office just as he would a teammate in hopes to deliver his second NBA championship after delivering his first in 2021.

“What he’s doing is smart,” Johnson told EssentiallySports. “He’s keeping management’s feet to the fire. He’s saying, ‘Don’t get complacent. Don’t just think that I’m going to be here. Put the best possible team around me that we can.”

Johnson spoke extensively with EssentiallySports recently at the annual John Wooden Tip-Off Luncheon at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on a number of topics. Amid an accomplished 11-year NBA career, four-year stint with UCLA, and success as a broadcaster, Johnson shared his favorite Wooden stories, his ongoing exclusion from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame and his optimism about Antetokounmpo’s future with the Bucks and their playoff potential.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interview has been edited and condensed.

What is your favorite Wooden memory?

Johnson: “There are a couple of them. Off the court, I was a freshman at the Ackerman Student Union building. I’m in the pool hall shooting pool with a bunch of friends of mine. I probably should be in class. But that’s a whole other story (laughs). Coach Wooden walks by as he was heading to get some lunch, sees me and keeps walking. About 20-30 minutes later, he finished eating and had a toothpick in his mouth. He comes back in and makes a beeline toward me at the pool table. He doesn’t say a word. He puts his hand out for the pool cube. I give him the pool cube. He bends over the pool table and proceeds to run about five or six balls in a row. He was in great shape. He’s got the cue balls in rotation, spinning and hitting the next ball. He passes the cube stick back and doesn’t say a word. He walks out. He later told me that he shot a lot of billiards back at Indiana. I told Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] that story at a luncheon. And Kareem told me he had done the same thing with him and Lucius Allen down in the basement of a hotel. He came down there when they were shooting pool. He got the pool cue. He didn’t say a word. He made about eight or nine balls in a row.”

How did you react to that in real time?

Johnson: “My eyes were wide and my mouth was open. He just handed me the stick. He waddled on out like it was nothing. That was the off-the-court stuff. On the court, there were so many great moments. As a sophomore, we were playing against Dayton in the [regional semifinal] of the NCAA tournament. It was a triple overtime game. Because Dave Meyers and Keith Wilkes fouled out, I got to play a lot of minutes. I’m in the game at the very end in the third overtime. We were up by three, and we were at the free-throw line. Then Coach tells me, ‘We’re up by three and there’s 32 seconds left, don’t shoot the ball.’ Pete Maravich is at the line. He shoots on the front end of a one-and-one off the back of the rim. The ball bounces really high, and I jump incredibly high. In mid-air, I turn and twist, shoot it, swish.

They call a timeout. Going back to the bench, I was like, ‘Oh my God. He just told me not to shoot the basketball!’ So as I was walking back, I said, ‘Coach, I’m sorry.’ He’s like, ‘Sorry, for what?’ ‘Well, you said, ‘Don’t shoot.’’ He said, ‘No, forget about that! Forget about that! I know I said that, but that was a great play! I always want you to use your instincts and just think through the game. You made a great play!’ It was little things like that stood out. Then there was all the old stuff about him teaching how to tie our shoes and pull up our socks. We did that every first day of practice. Everything you hear about him is true. But the off-the-court stuff and funny stuff is what really resonates with me more than anything.”

Feeding off what Mick [Cronin] said in his speech, what do you think Wooden would think of the state of college basketball with NIL and transfers?

Johnson: “It’s interesting. He could take one or two routes. The first one would be what Tony Bennett did in Virginia and just say, ‘I can’t deal with this. The landscape is totally different and the paradigm has shifted. I don’t want anything to do with it.’ But Coach [Wooden] also talked a lot about his ‘Pyramid of Success,’ and one of those precepts was ‘adaptability.’ He talked about being adaptable. He would be able to do so. He adapted to some of the cultural shifts in America during his time at UCLA with the Civil Rights movement. You have African American brothers with the big afros, Black Power, and the Black Consciousness movement. He fit in right into all of those different aspects of life sociologically. I think, with the current landscape of college basketball, he may not have liked it. He may not have been in love with it. But I think he would find a way to adapt to it and make the best out of it.

I’m speaking on a panel later at UCLA with Coach [Jim] Herrick, his granddaughter, [UCLA women’s basketball coach] Cori Close, and some other people. I tried to think about what made him so special as a coach. He had this way of making you believe in yourself as a person with the way that he treated you, the respect that he gave you and how he talked to you. Then, as a player, you felt invincible out on the basketball floor. It was because of the preparation, mainly. But also with the way that he was with his aura and his ability to get the best out of his players. I thought that helped relate to us. So I think he could relate to this landscape in modern college basketball and find a way to succeed.”

Every year there seems to be outrage on what is the holdup with you getting into the Hall-of-Fame. Have you gotten any clarity on what’s the deal there?  

Johnson: (laughs) “No, I don’t. It’s funny because what I did in the 80s, they were talking about that in the 1990s. That was a long time ago. It’s an even longer stretch. I think I’ve been a finalist three times. I jokingly refer to myself as the ‘Susan Lucci’ of the Hall-of-Fame. She was nominated for an Emmy for ‘All My Children’ for years. That was the running joke back in the 70s and 80s. But it’s disappointing. I would be disingenuous if I said I wasn’t disappointed. But I’ve been a finalist three times, and there is hope that I’ll get in at one point. Hopefully, I will be alive when I get in. I was reading about Gus Johnson getting into the Hall-of-Fame after he had passed away. I hope it’s not under those circumstances. But all I can do is all I can do.”

So I take it you’ve never gotten feedback? The committee doesn’t talk openly about its selection process.

Johnson: “It’s pretty secretive. I actually asked the gentleman that makes the phone call and gives me the bad news, ‘Can I get you on the podcast so we can talk about what the deal is?’ He was like, ‘No, it’s a secret kind of a balloting.’ It is what it is. I’ve been fortunate to be a finalist. I’m still finalist-eligible. So maybe that’s my cross-to-bear. Maybe I’ll be a finalist 10 times, and I never get in. You never know. But the thing is that doesn’t validate who I am as a person and who I am as a man.

Of course, I’d love to get in. But my contemporaries, Alex English, my backup forward in Milwaukee when I was there, Larry Bird, Dr. J., Bernard King, Dominique Wilkins, James Worthy, all of those guys know what I was about as a basketball player. I’ve got the respect of them. I’d love to be in the Hall-of-Fame. But Hall-of-Fame guys know that I belong there. It’s funny. When I didn’t get in, not this time, but the time before this, I was taking my daughter to a basketball tournament in Orange County. Just as we were about to enter the venue, Walt Frazier calls me up. ‘Clyde’ rang up on my cell phone. I told her to go in and that I have to take this call, just to find out that I didn’t make it. ‘I was like, ‘What’s up Clyde?’ He was like, ‘Man, F— these m—f—ers man!’ F- them man! They did the same thing to me, Marcus! You’re a Hall-of-Famer! You know it! Don’t let them define who you were as a basketball player!’ So all of the guys in my peer group show me my respect.”

Even if you have the respect and the resume, what do you think is underappreciated about your game?

Johnson: “Underappreciated would be selflessness, and that I averaged 26 points a game my second year and was first-team All-Pro. Don Nelson, my coach in Milwaukee, asked me to scale that back. He asked me what I thought I could average my third year. Being with George Gervin and World B. Free, we were all talking about averaging 30 points a game and seeing who could lead the league in scoring. Don said, ‘MJ, I know you can do that. But for the good of the team, what I want you to do is average 20 or 21 points a game, seven rebounds and play defense. That will help us become a better basketball team.’ So, that’s what I did.

Looking back, it’s funny. I posed that question to Giannis Antetokounmpo. I told him about the whole scenario. I asked him, “If a coach told you not to average 30 points, but to average 20, what would your response be?’ I loved this. He said, ‘Well, if it would help us win, then I would do it. But I’d have to really believe it would help us win to scale back like that.’ That all goes back to Coach Wooden and back at Crenshaw High School with Willie West. I learned to play the game the right way in terms of team being first and then sacrificing yourself for the good of the team. It’s one of the precepts of the ‘Pyramid of Success.” Give up individual honors for what’s good of the team. It may have cost me a spot in the Hall-of-Fame. I could be over 20,000 points right now if I would’ve been able to express myself as an offensive player. But it didn’t happen. I hope that would be a little more appreciated than it is.”

Speaking of Giannis, can you put your Bucks analyst hat on? Where do the Bucks fit in the East this season considering they waived Dame after his Achilles injury, Myles Turner joined the group and Giannis still playing at a high level?

Johnson: “Of course, you have to look at Cleveland and what they did last year. Kenny Atkinson was the Coach of the Year. With the Knicks, Mike Brown is coming in and you know how much that is going to help them out. Orlando and Atlanta are better. But I really like our team now based on everything that I’ve seen earlier this season with the preseason games. I’ve seen three, and I have done two preseason games. We’ve got a good mix. We’re a modern-era basketball team now. We have a good mix of young, athletic players like OKC and Indiana had last season – the two finalists. We finally have 13 or 14 roster guys that are good rotation players. We’ll have about seven or eight players that are 26 years or younger.

A lot will depend on Kevin Porter Jr. and how he continues to develop. Same thing with Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green and Ryan Rollins. But man, just watching what we’re doing out on the floor right now, we’re shooting a lot of 3s. The offense is going to be there. Doc Rivers and his staff are doing a tremendous job. So I think we’re going to surprise some people. I think we will finish in the top three or four in the Eastern Conference, maybe even better depending on how things shake out. But I think we have the kind of team to do so. We have good, quality players. Everybody talked about how you can’t leave dead money on the books after stretching Damian Lillard and expect to compete. But they don’t say that Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Cole Anthony are collectively making under $25 million. So they were able to get these quality, fringe, margin kind of players that you still need to be successful to come in and take less money.

So we’re going to be alright. We’re going to compete. Myles Turner is going to play well with Giannis. You talk about selflessness. Myles gives up himself on the floor to get better shots for teammates and provides a lot of things defensively. So we’re right there. I think we’re going to surprise some people.”

What’s your feeling on whether Giannis will stay with the Bucks?

Johnson: “The Bucks just signed Thanasis. They just signed Alex. We have three brothers with the same franchise. Where’s he going to go? Why would he leave? Why would he legitimately consider leaving when this franchise has given him almost everything he has as a man and as a basketball player? I heard him interviewed by a reporter in Greece, and he talked about his loyalty to Milwaukee. People don’t understand about Giannis’ loyalty. That’s the thing that’s going to supersede everything else. Now, what he’s doing is smart. He’s keeping management’s feet to the fire. He’s saying, ‘Don’t get complacent. Don’t just think that I’m going to be here. Put the best possible team around me that we can.’ So he keeps that pressure on him with just some of the things he says. He says, ‘I’m here. Now, six or seven months from now, who knows? I may change my mind.’

Those are the kind of things that keep management in check. And management already does its due diligence. Jon Horst, Milt Newton and that crew do a great job. They’re doing what they got to do to make sure that we can compete and at least put ourselves in a position to be one of the top three or four teams in the Eastern Conference. Then once the playoffs start, with luck, health and other factors, who knows what can happen.”

What gives you that optimism?

Johnson: “They’re younger, athletic and Giannis is surrounded by great shooting. So right now we have four or five guys that shot 40% from 3 last year. Myles shot 39.6% from 3 last season. Bobby Portis shot near 40% from behind the line in the last five years. We got some great shooters right now. People don’t realize too that with AJ Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Gary Trent Jr., when you look at their on-court and off-court numbers with Giannis, they’re in the high 90 percentile in almost every category offensively and defensively. Kyle Kuzma, I know his workout guy with Clint Parks out here in LA. He worked him out diligently to fix his deficiencies from last year. So he’s shooting the ball better. He’s a lot more intentional in terms of getting downhill and creating shots for others. He’s going to have a great year. I’m looking forward to us having a great all-around season. I think we have great depth. We can go nine or 10 deep. So we have quality depth. It looks good. Normally in preseason, you’re trying to figure things out. Things can look a little wishy washy at times. This looks very good right now.”

Beyond any health factors, how will all of that be enough to get past Cleveland and New York in the East?

Johnson: “We got to shoot the ball. We got to be a great shooting team. Last year, we were No. 1 in 3-point field-goal percentage and No. 3 in effective field-goal percentage. We just have to do the same thing this year. If we do the same thing this year with the way that Giannis is going to attract gravity with the basketball in his hands, they’re going to let a lot more high-quality shots from the 3-point line. If they knock them down at 38% or 39% like last season, we’ll be right there.”

You do a lot of community work in LA and Milwaukee. What impact has that made?

Johnson: “I work with a couple of organizations in Milwaukee, including the Running Rebels. That’s where Kevon Looney came out of. I use my acting background. I’ve been studying acting for 25-30 years with movies and TV. I use that to help the youth put on acting workshops. That’s to help the youth trying to find their voice and give some enhancement and self-esteem so they feel good about themselves. Most importantly, so they have knowledge and feelings and know how things are affecting them. That’s what acting is all about. Some of the best actors know how to acknowledge what is going on inside of them. So I found acting to be a great bridge between self-esteem building and teaching kids how to expand their creativity in terms of expressing themselves in a venue like acting.

I also work with the Serenity Inns in Milwaukee. We just opened up a new facility that is going to house another 30 or 40 men in Milwaukee that have substance abuse issues. That’s my No. 1 thing – to use the experiences that I went through both positive and negative. In that aspect, it’s kind of negative. But my past is my greatest asset. So I use that in terms of being a presence and helping to raise funds. I’m doing meetings every day. I’m in Milwaukee, and I’m interacting with some of the guys that are going through it and are struggling. When they see me in there, it’s like, ‘Okay, this guy is doing it. He’s at a meeting today even though he’s been sober for 20-plus years. It must be worth it. So maybe that is something I need to incorporate in my life.’”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Essentially Sports. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads