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While the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs is wrapping up, several surprising names are already in their offseason. In the Eastern Conference, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated in the first round. On Wednesday night, LeBron James and the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in five games against the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. Even with the playoffs in full force, these two superstars are dominating the headlines just seconds after elimination.
For Giannis Antetokounmpo, the shocking trend of early playoff exits continues. Following the 2021 championship, the Bucks have lost in the second round in 2022, and have lost in the first round in 2023, 2024, and 2025. While Giannis has been injured or unavailable in a couple of those series, the Greek Freak was healthy for the first-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers this postseason. In five games, Giannis would average playoff career-highs with 33.0 PPG and 15.6 RPG in addition to 6.6 APG. Despite those stats, Giannis did not have much help, with Damian Lillard returning from blot clot before suffering a torn Achilles and several other Bucks players putting in poor performances.
For the Bucks, they have no tradable assets with almost all of their draft picks through 2031 either going out or being turned into pick swaps. Rumors suggest that if Damian Lillard remained healthy and the Bucks still lost, he could’ve been in trade rumors this summer. Now suffering from a torn Achilles, it’s likely that Lillard won’t see any time on the court next season. It is even more likely that when he returns for the 2026-27 season at the age of 36, he will opt in to his $58.4 million player option.
With no options left and Giannis set to meet with the team this summer, the 2025 offseason may finally be the offseason Antetokounmpo requests a trade. With Antetokounmpo previously stating how important winning another championship is, it is likely the championship window in Milwaukee has closed. Several teams have already been linked to Antetokounmpo, including the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder, but the Brooklyn Nets have been one of the most talked-about teams given their assets and promising young players. With Giannis recently spotted in New York following the Bucks’ playoff exit, those rumors have only gotten louder.
Until Giannis makes or does not decide on his future, all other big moves are going to be on hold. Teams will hold off pursuing other big names who will be on the trade block in hopes a landing a generation forward still in his prime.
For LeBron James, the question of whether this is the offseason he finally retires could rattle the NBA. On Wednesday night, LeBron and the Lakers would lose Game 5 of their Western Conference quarterfinals matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves 96-103, ending their 2025 playoff run in the first round. Despite the first-round exit, LeBron would still put up 25.4 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 5.6 APG during the series.
For LeBron and the Lakers, they are 2-12 in the last 14 playoff games. The Lakers would be swept by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals, lose in five to the Nuggets again in the first round of the 2024 Western Conference playoffs, and lose to the Wolves in five this postseason.
Having won four championships in his 22-year career in addition to multiple MVP’s Finals MVPs, All-NBAs, leading the league in all-time points, and more, James has done everything and has nothing left to prove. With it being unlikely that the Lakers win a championship next season, the only major accomplishment left for James is the all-time regular-season games played leader.
As of the end of the 2024-25 season, Robert Parish is the all-time regular season games played leader with 1,611 games played in 21 seasons. LeBron has played 1,562 games in 22 seasons. If James can play 50 games next season, he will become the all-time regular-season games played leader with 1,612+ games played. In addition, a $52.6 million player option is a pretty good reason to return for another season.
When asked about how much longer he could play following the Lakers’ elimination by the Wolves, James would answer by not answering:
“I don’t know. I don’t have the answer to that. Something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife, and my support group, and kind of just talk through it and see what happens, and then just have a conversation with myself on how long I wanna continue to play.”
Until James makes that decision, there will be plenty of speculation and rumors as LeBron James retiring would mean the end of an era for the NBA.
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