(Photo credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images)

Giannis Antetokounmpo said he considers himself a member of the Milwaukee Bucks for life -- or as long as the team will have him.

Despite speculation in the first part of the 2025-26 NBA season that he wants out of Milwaukee, he told The Athletic that he would never ask the only team he's known as a pro to trade him.

The conversation came after the Bucks' 120-113 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

'My plan is to be here for the rest of my career,' said Antetokounmpo, a nine-time All-Star. 'If they don't want me ... I'm not the one in charge. I am an employee.'

ESPN reported last month that the Bucks plan to add complementary pieces to their roster to support the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player in a rebuild and not trade him.

Earlier in the summer, there had been rumors of trade talks, focused primarily on sending the 31-year-old star to the New York Knicks. He is in his 13th season in Milwaukee.

'Today, I am committed -- not 100 percent, but 1 million percent to my teammates, to my craft, to this team and to this city,' he said to The Athletic. 'One million percent. I don't look right. I don't look left. I look only to the next game, which is the Lakers, and I want to win the game. I want us to stack wins before the All-Star Game to get ourselves back to the race. We're what, 11th now? This is not who we are, you know? So that's the only thing in my mindset.'

The Bucks (16-21) are indeed in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, a game behind the Chicago Bulls for the final play-in spot.

Since winning the NBA title in 2021, the Bucks have been eliminated once in the Eastern Conference semifinals and made three first-round exits.

'I am not [going anywhere],' Antetokounmpo told the Athletic. 'I am invested in this team. I want to turn this team around. I want to play good basketball. I want to be healthy. I want to help my teammates. I want to win games. The last six games we've played, we're 4-2. We have a lot of games in front of us.

'... I'm locked in.'

On the season, Antetokounmpo has been limited to 23 games because of injury. He has averages of 29.5 points, 10 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

The Bucks will have a decision to make this fall, at least, when Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a four-year, $275 million contract extension on Oct. 1. He can opt out of his current contract in the summer of 2027.

'There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say, 'I want a trade,'' Antetokounmpo said in the interview. 'That's not in my nature.'

--Field Level Media