Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future is the conversation that is dominating the NBA. But his immediate health is now also a concern for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Antetokounmpo could not finish out Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets as his team was mounting a frantic comeback that ultimately fell just short.
The injury appeared to occur as Antetokounmpo was heading back up the court in the final minute.
He initially headed off to the locker room before returning to watch the finish on the bench. He briefly walked onto the court during a delay in the action but did not play the final 34.2 seconds.
Milwaukee had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Kyle Kuzma’s 3-point heave clanked off the rim. The shorthanded Nuggets hung on for a 102-100 win.
Antetokounmpo did not appear to be 100% physically even before he was forced from the game. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Antetokounmpo walked up the court during a possession that ended with a Ryan Rollins 3-pointer. Denver called timeout after the make with 8:06 to go. Antetokounmpo remained in the game, though, when play restarted.
The two-time MVP and 2021 Finals MVP had made an earlier (brief) trip to the locker room during play in the first quarter. And, per Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, Antetokounmpo played just 6 minutes in the third quarter.
Giannis Antetokounmpo injury update
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo has a calf injury.
‘I thought he was favoring it for most of the second half, personally,’ Rivers said. ‘I asked our team five different times … I didn’t like what my eyes were seeing, personally. Giannis was defiant about staying in.
‘On that one play, you can see him trying to run down the floor, to me, I had had enough. I didn’t ask, I just took him out. He actually wanted to go back in, it just … that was a no from me.’
Antetokounmpo told reporters ‘next steps will be go to (the) MRI (Saturday)’ and he expects he’ll miss several weeks.
‘After the MRI they will tell me probably I popped something in my calf, or in my soleus or something, and probably give me protocol of 4-to-6 weeks that I’ll be out,’ Antetokounmpo said. ‘This is from my experience being around the NBA.
‘After that, I’m going to work my butt off to come back.’