Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future is still driving the NBA rumor mill, and the latest player poll shows Milwaukee remains the likeliest landing spot. In The Athletic’s 2026 Anonymous NBA Player Poll, 69 of 151 players who answered the question said Antetokounmpo would stay with the Bucks.
The poll was the final edition of the outlet’s four-week survey run, with 161 players contacted from late February to early April. Miami finished second in the voting, with 35 players picking the Heat, while New York came in third. That matters because Antetokounmpo showed interest in playing for the Knicks last summer, and the league has spent months treating his next move as one of the biggest summer questions.
The numbers also land at a moment when the talk around him has become more pointed. Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam said last week that he expects clarity on Antetokounmpo’s situation before the June 23 draft, and he said he would trade the two-time MVP if he does not commit to the long-term extension he is eligible for on Oct. 1. That gives Milwaukee a hard date and a hard line, even if the public message still leaves room for a lot of silence in between.
Miami’s place in the poll is hardly a surprise. Heat president Pat Riley said the team is not satisfied with where it stands, telling a news conference, “We’re not good enough, and we’re not happy with it.” Riley also said the Heat made a push for an Antetokounmpo trade at the February trade deadline and added, “This is the first time in three years we can do something about it. I believe players want to play in Miami — some don’t. I think we’re a destination play. You never know until you get into the market and start having those discussions.”
That leaves the Heat with a familiar problem: they need a major upgrade this summer, and Antetokounmpo remains the kind of player who can change a team’s ceiling overnight. The poll was collected before Haslam’s latest comments sharpened the issue, but the overlap between the voting, the Knicks’ past interest, and Miami’s public push shows why Antetokounmpo’s name keeps surfacing wherever the league starts talking about next season and beyond. For now, the most telling part may be that even after weeks of speculation, most players still think he stays in Milwaukee — unless the deadline imposed by the Bucks turns that expectation into something else entirely.
