MILWAUKEE — For the first time in his 13-year NBA career, Giannis Antetokounmpo will not hear Khris Middleton’s name called when the public address announcer at Fiserv Forum takes fans through each player on the Milwaukee Bucks’ opening-night roster.
Middleton’s name will still be called Wednesday; it will just be for his spot in the Washington Wizards’ starting lineup.
Wednesday won’t be Middleton’s first time playing against the Bucks since being traded to the Wizards in February. (That happened roughly two weeks after his trade when the Bucks went to Washington on Feb. 21.) But it will be Middleton’s first time back in Fiserv Forum, and in Antetokounmpo’s opinion, that should be cause for celebration.
“It’s going to be fun,” Antetokounmpo said Sunday. “First of all, I think the most important thing, he should get the warmest welcome ever. When he comes here and he sees his tribute video, he should be in tears crying before the game. I cannot explain how much Khris means to this team. I cannot explain how much Khris means to me.
“I’m excited that I’m going to have the opportunity to play his team. I’ve had the opportunity to play against him before, once with the USA team and once last year. It’s fun. That’s my guy. That’s my brother for life. We’ve done incredible things together, so I cannot wait to see him tear up on Wednesday.”
Before making his way to Milwaukee, Middleton chatted with The Athletic in a phone interview to discuss how he has tried to keep his mind off his homecoming to Milwaukee, his time with the Bucks, his relationship with Antetokounmpo and whether he’ll try to make Wednesday night a revenge game with a huge scoring effort.
(This interview was lightly edited for clarity.)
You’ll be wearing a different jersey Wednesday and standing on the other side of the floor when they announce the entire Bucks roster for opening night. Feels like the league did you a solid by scheduling this on opening night so you could appreciate it a bit more. But what are you feeling heading into this?
I definitely give a shout-out to the league. I think it’s a sign of respect for my first game coming back to Milwaukee to be the first game of the season. On (October) the 22nd (my jersey number), too, which is pretty cool. I’m definitely appreciative of that. As far as what’s going through my mind, I’ve honestly been trying to go through my day, what my day will be like there as much as I can, just so I won’t get too emotional, too caught up in everything else to realize I still have a game.
I’m excited for it. I’m ready for it. I think everybody that knows me may know that I’m not the one for attention really, but I think this will be fun. It’s a sign of respect and appreciation for what I’ve done for that organization. I’m excited to get there — get it over with, also (laughs) — but glad to see everybody and go through it.
On Sunday, Giannis told us that he hopes the crowd is so welcoming and the video tribute is so good that you cry before the game. I have my doubts about whether or not that will actually happen, but what comes to mind when you think of your time in Milwaukee?
I would say, a place where I got to accomplish a lot of my dreams and goals. Looking back, I was quote, unquote a throw-in in the trade, and I’m just trying to survive, but in the back of your mind, you want to be all these things. You want to be an All-Star, a champion … ended up being an Olympian, a gold medalist at that. I think I got a little screwed one year with the All-NBA, so I still put an asterisk by it.
But it was a place that I got to do a lot of things that I set out to do, goals that seemed like they were too far to reach from where I started. Over time, I was able to knock them out one by one, and that was all with the help of everybody within our organization and in that city.
Giannis told reporters that he views you as a brother for life, and it is impossible for him to explain how much you mean to him. What does that relationship mean to you?
It means a lot. We went through a lot together. We challenged each other. We held each other accountable. We pushed each other, and I think that’s what you want as a teammate. And then off the court, we went through a lot of the same things. We were able to ask each other questions about different experiences that each other went through, because not that many people live the life he lives or the life that I live, and go through stuff like normal people. We are family.
I think he knows every single one of my family members and friends and cousins by first and last name, and so do I. I think that’s rare. You don’t see a lot of that unless teammates have been together for a long time and actually enjoy being teammates with one another and getting to know them and their families and whatnot. So, it’s definitely the same (for me). I think everybody knows that about us.
Khris Middleton (right) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (left) were teammates on the Milwaukee Bucks from 2013 until February 2025. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
So, how much of your family will be there on Wednesday?
Oh yeah, all my close relatives, my family will be there. I think everybody in that building that has worked there for the last 10 years knows who will be there, except for one person, and that’s my father, who I wish could be here and see this because this is something I think he would definitely appreciate and love to see. But I think this is a family moment for me also, just so my kids can come back, see it and see the love and see where a lot of it started.
We never discussed your career ending, but it feels safe to assume that if contracts and extensions were offered at a rate you felt valued you correctly, you would have been happy to close your career out in Milwaukee. Eight months after the trade, do you have any hard feelings about not getting to close your career out with the Bucks?
For sure. I think as athletes, we always want to control how things end, but life doesn’t really go like that. I definitely would have loved to stay, but time ran out, had to make changes and … life happens. But I’m excited about this stage in my career to see what type of role I have, what type of player I can be with a new team, and it’s something that I’m excited about, excited about embracing this challenge and figuring out where to go from here.
It had been more than a decade since you had changed teams, so did you feel like you had been through it before? Or was it not that easy in the middle of the season and you needed a full offseason to get comfortable?
It’s more not basketball-wise, but it’s just getting the lay of the land out here. Milwaukee, I had been there for so long. I knew my routes, my favorite hot spots, stuff like that, so it definitely took a minute to get adjusted. The pace of life in D.C. is a little bit different than Milwaukee, but it’s cool. One thing I love about playing basketball and being an NBA player, I think a lot of people know I like to travel, so being in a different city and seeing what a different part of the world is like is great. Washington, D.C., is a very interesting place with a lot going on, so it’s been a positive move so far for myself and my family.
I am not in charge of the franchise, but it seems inevitable that your number will eventually be retired by the franchise. What would that honor mean to you?
It would be unreal. I look up at every arena, just to see who’s up there, and it’s something. If my number goes up there, I’d be a part of history. You think about banners, you think about retired numbers; those things are always hanging, and people can always see who left their mark in the city or on the organization. That was one of my goals and dreams, so hopefully that can happen in Milwaukee also.
On Monday, Doc Rivers joked that when he was with the LA Clippers and played his first game back in Atlanta after spending his first eight seasons with the Hawks, he tried to drop 50 points on them but just didn’t have the talent to do so. He said you do, though, so they’ll have to be ready for you on Wednesday. We’ve talked about the emotions, but how do you approach the game?
I think throughout my career, I’ve noticed that the more I press, the worse I play. The more I say I’m going to go out and do this, it ends up being terrible, and I’m looking like an idiot out there half the time. So, it’s more of just trying to go through the day, go through the routine and try to treat the game as normal as possible — knowing that it’s not — just so I can focus and do what I need to do. If 50 happens, that would be amazing. I think that would be a great first game back — a revenge game, if you want to call it that or whatever — but I don’t think that’s normally my style.
I think the most important thing is just try to get a win. I think that will give me more of a reward at the end of the day, but it all comes down to me just playing the right way, finding my spots, playing the game the way I usually do and not trying to put too much on the game. Emotions can get high and, for me, that’s when things can go off the rails.
