Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo injured his left knee with less than four minutes remaining in the Bucks’ game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday:
After grabbing a missed 3-pointer from Pacers center Jay Huff, Antetokounmpo took the ball up the court himself, sprinted toward the retreating Huff, shook him off at the free throw line, and exploded to the basket for a two-handed dunk. When he landed, however, he landed awkwardly, with his left knee briefly buckling as it made contact with the ground.
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When the Pacers took an inbounds pass and attacked in the opposite direction, Antetokounmpo remained sitting on the baseline and then slowly stood up. He actually dunked it seconds later after a Myles Turner steal and a long pass from Ryan Rollins found Antetokounmpo who never crossed halfcourt and was left alone in the paint.
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After the dunk, Antetokounmpo carefully jogged back to the defense and drew a foul on the Bucks’ next offensive possession, getting himself back to the free throw line for his 12th and 13th free throws of the game. He exited the game less than a minute later; he did not return, scoring 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists in 23 minutes to help the Bucks win 134-123.
From Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“Yeah, I think I hyperextended my knee,” Antetokounmpo said. “I haven’t seen that clip yet. I want to see that clip. It doesn’t matter. That’s it.” […]
“I’ve been hurt like this before,” Antetokounmpo said. “The moment you take a step away from the game and don’t stay relaxed, it’s going to get stiff, you’re going to start to feel pain, I’m not going to be able to move, and other things can be affected, from your ankles to your calves to your hips. Your body is not aligned, right, because you’re not running, like you’re not taking your steps the right way.”
Looking to avoid stiffness, pain and misalignment, Antetokounmpo did Tried checking again, but to no avail, as The Athletic’s Eric Nehm details:
With the Bucks leading by 13 points early in the fourth quarter, Bucks vice president of sports medicine Luke O’Brien and physical therapist Tommy Brees spoke with Antetokounmpo in the tunnel leading to the locker room near the Bucks’ bench. After some persuasion, Antetokounmpo finally walked into the locker room.
“I talked to Luke and Tommy and I don’t think anything has changed,” Antetokounmpo said. “I wanted to get back in the game. They looked at me and said, ‘No, it’s not worth it.’ We were up 13, 15. Their reaction was, ‘No, no, it’s not worth it.'” […]
When asked by The Athletic if he would undergo imaging on his knee to see if there was a more serious injury during the game, the two-time NBA MVP said no.
“I’m going to go home, sleep, see how I feel tomorrow, try to lift some weights,” Antetokounmpo said. “If I’m a little uncomfortable, then I’ll start there. But so far, I’m not really bothered by it.”
On one hand, Giannis Antetokounmpo has made no secret of the fact that if he feels good enough to play, he wants to play, regardless of the circumstances the Bucks find themselves in. However, this context is important when considering the possibility of Giannis Antetokounmpo returning.
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After first losing All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard to a ruptured Achilles tendon, then giving up and extending the remainder of Lillard’s contract to create enough salary cap space to sign Turner from the Pacers to become Giannis Antetokounmpo’s new frontcourt partner, the Bucks entered the season in a precarious position. On the court, the Bucks appear to lack complementary talent at a high enough level to support Antetokounmpo’s preference for a championship run. Off the court, with reports that the Knicks and Bucks have been in blockbuster communication about potentially bringing Giannis to New York, there seems to be a constant rumor that Antetokounmpo’s eyes may start to wander if he loses confidence that the Bucks can compete for another NBA title.
Milwaukee got off to a 7-4 start, with Antetokounmpo playing at an MVP level and fourth-year guard Rollins seizing the chance to earn a starting spot in the Bucks’ backcourt, opening the league’s eyes. Then, the injuries started.
Groin strain in mid-November. In early December, the calf was strained. The other time, in late January, brought his missed total to 29 games – nearly half the season by that point.
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“The things I was able to do in the past, maybe I can’t do anymore. I have to be smarter,” Antetokounmpo recently told reporters. “I’m not older, but I’m definitely older. I’m not 24 anymore – 31, but I’m still 31. I’m not like 36 or 37. It’s difficult when you deal with a lot of soft tissue injuries. I’ve dealt with knee pain in the past; this is totally different. If you can’t deal with soft tissue injuries, they can linger. I think that’s what happened this year, I felt like I was playing at a loss all year.”
When Antetokounmpo returned from the injured list earlier this month, the Bucks had been eight games below .500 and ranked 11th in the Eastern Conference. As good as he was when he came on the court — averaging 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 28.9 minutes per game; setting career highs in field goal percentage, true shooting percentage and assist rate; ranking in the top five in the NBA in a host of advanced metrics, including player efficiency rating, win shares per 48 minutes, statistical box plus-minus, estimated box plus-minus and regular adjusted box plus-minus — Milwaukee went just 17-19 with him in the lineup. With a negative record, they currently rank among the top five in the league. 11 The team is 28-39 and has a goal differential below .500, 5.5 games behind the 10th-place Charlotte Hornets in the Eastern Conference with 15 games remaining.
Publicly available playoff prediction models give the Bucks almost zero chance of making the play-in round before the season ends. them DoHowever, the chances of landing a top-four pick in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery are currently about 14%, according to Tankathon. While the Atlanta Hawks have the option of a higher pick between Milwaukee and New Orleans since last June’s draft night trade that landed Derrick Quinn to the Pelicans, the possibility of a higher pick from the Pelicans could still result in the Bucks finishing this losing season with a lottery pick — a prospect who could either play alongside Antetokounmpo or be traded to return a more established player who could help the Bucks return to the top. debate.
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The big question now is: Will Antetokounmpo once again force himself to get back on the court as soon as possible and continue to ply his trade down the stretch, or will the Bucks convince him that caution is an important component of courage in the final days of this lost season.
“For me, every game is worth it,” Antetokounmpo told reporters on Sunday. “Every time I step on the floor, I try not to take it for granted. I’m excited to be out there, especially when I get back into rhythm and feel good. But again, that’s when you have to look back and you just have to listen. Just have to listen. I listened.”
