Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo understands there is considerable pressure on himself and his teammates to make a deep run in the 2025 NBA playoffs after bowing out in the first round the past two seasons.

For example, when asked by the Journal Sentinel on media day Sept. 30 about the Bucks' offseason moves getting the team back to the conference finals or NBA Finals, Antetokounmpo offered a smiling preamble before talking about Gary Trent Jr., Taurean Prince and Delon Wright.

"First of all – conference finals or finals – we gotta get out of the first round," he said. "Let's do that."

And when speaking to Sam Amick of The Athletic during the team's training camp in Irvine, California, shortly thereafter, the topic of another early playoff exit was broached – and what it could mean for the two-time MVP. But it didn't mean he wasn't going to smile through it (again).

While it's more than comical to suggest that the Bucks would consider trading Antetokounmpo if a second season with fellow all-star point guard Damian Lillard didn't go as planned, Antetokounmpo decided to practice his stand-up act in front of the NBA reporter's microphone.

Giannis presented a member of the Bucks' staff this question during The Athletic interview, which published Wednesday:

“If we don’t win this year, would you get fired?” Antetokounmpo asks with a wry smile to his co-worker. “Do you have it in the back of your mind, like, ‘(What) if this year doesn’t go well?’ Yeah, if we don’t win a championship, I might get traded. Yeah, this is the job we live. This is the world we’re living in. It’s everybody.”

Giannis almost certainly isn't going anywhere anytime soon (he's under contract at least through the 2026-27 season with a player option for the season after), yet he understands that the sense of urgency to win another NBA title is real.

Center Brook Lopez is 36. Lillard is 34 and Khris Middleton is 33.

The franchise doesn't have a first-round pick until 2031 due to the Lillard and Jrue Holiday trades and they are a "second apron" team in terms of payroll, which limits their roster flexibility.

With this specific group, the window is likely this year and next.

“On a serious note, this is the job,” Antetokounmpo added. “It’s the profession that we’re in. At any given moment, if you don’t succeed, that might be it for us. It was the same way with the previous coaching staff, and the year before, the players before. … If you don’t do a good enough job, you’re out.”

Any of this sound familiar? This is something Antetokounmpo has said before.

On Oct. 24 of last year, he officially signed a new contract extension. That afternoon, in a wide-ranging press conference when he spoke glowingly about the city of Milwaukee and the Bucks organization he acknowledged that a contract runs two ways and that the organization may feel differently than he does about their partnership.

“They’re going to be there but I’m going to keep on doing what I do, keep on being me, keep on trying to represent the city of Milwaukee in the best way possible – for as long as they want me,” he said.

“Because people act like it’s guaranteed. Nothing’s guaranteed. I’ve got to keep on being great, keep on leading my teammates, keep on winning games and keep on being healthy. I’ve seen a lot of people that they’re great and the moment they’re not healthy no more the team has to make the best decision for themselves. It’s business, man. I don’t take it personal. I might take it personal because I know these guys upstairs for a lot of years. But no, no. Keep on doing me. I’m here. I want to be here and I want to win another one and I hope I win another one.”

Antetokounmpo said roughly the same thing in a 2018 interview with EuroHoops Greece also.

The interview was conducted in Greek but translated into English by EuroHoops. Antetokounmpo was asked about his looming contract expiration and he said, “If the time comes and we see because the NBA is business; even my team the Bucks, they might say to me, ‘Giannis, we have not won the title after five years. You are our leader, so why don’t we win? And they will bring another guy. They might do this move.”

And now back to 2024 where the reality is no Bucks fan should get ready to put their No. 34 jerseys on eBay … but it's fair to suggest that the Bucks face some pressure to once again advance deep in the playoffs.

(This story was updated to add a photo and a photo gallery.)

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis acknowledges pressure is on Bucks to advance deep in playoffs