MIAMI – After missing the start of this year’s training camp because of a bout with COVID-19, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo joined the team at Florida International University for Saturday morning practice.
“Obviously, I think it took a toll on my body,” Antetokounmpo said following Saturday’s practice. “I’m not feeling 100 percent yet, physically. Just take it day by day. Get back in shape. I was able to do some 5-on-0. Run up and down a little bit. Tomorrow, a little better. I got 18 days until the first game, so I think I’ll be fine.”
Citing a conversation with Antetokounmpo following his on-court work on Saturday, Bucks coach Doc Rivers told reporters that he thinks his All-NBA forward will still need at least three days before he is fully ready to go. That means the two-time NBA MVP will be expected to miss the Bucks’ preseason opener against the Miami Heat on Monday night.
“Wind; conditioning,” Rivers said, when asked why he believes it will take a bit longer for Antetokounmpo to start playing five-on-five. “He went from the Euro(Basket), he took a week off and then right when he was about to start back up, then he gets that. So now that’s two-and-a-half weeks, so that’s a lot of off time.”
For his part, Antetokounmpo did not appear overly concerned about being ready in time for the Bucks’ regular season opener against the Washington Wizards on Oct. 22 in Milwaukee, even if he is going to be more limited while the Bucks continue to work on getting ready for the season in Miami for the next few days.
“I know the time to accomplish (it),” Antetokounmpo said. “I think the most important thing is that I’ve got to take care of my body and get back in shape because they’re going too fast for me (laughs). I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting old or because I haven’t played basketball for a couple of weeks now.
“But yeah, I’ve been playing all summer. I’ll be fine.”
GA back in the gym. pic.twitter.com/YRjz51XgHz
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 4, 2025
Both Rivers and general manager Jon Horst have talked in depth about how this year’s team will be built around Antetokounmpo’s abilities to a greater extent than ever before. While former coach Mike Budenholzer gave Antetokounmpo the space and opportunity to blossom into an MVP with a five-out offense and the organization has continued to lean into their superstar’s unique skillset, this will be the first time that the Bucks play Antetokounmpo in a point forward role since former coach Jason Kidd experimented with that idea at the end of the 2015-16 season.
Despite a new game plan, Antetokounmpo told reporters on Saturday that he wasn’t all that concerned about catching up to the new game plan because the Bucks did a lot of the same things in the final 14 games of the regular season with Damian Lillard sidelined with deep vein thrombosis. Antetokounmpo, however, was not concerned about adjusting to an attack centered more around his ability as a playmaker and even discussed the potential that he thinks the Bucks have to compete in the Eastern Conference this season.
“I’m not even gonna lie, I was in my bed with my blanket shivering for a couple of days,” Antetokounmpo said. “I wasn’t able to watch their practice and all that, but I watched film today and I see the potential that this team has.
“We can play fast. We’re fast, we’re athletes. We just gotta move the ball. Gotta move the balls. The ball cannot stick. If the ball starts sticking, we’re not that good. We can space the floor. We have so much shooting. We’re gonna be very defensive today, I believe.
“Just gotta be, gotta be like glue, we gotta come together as a team and I think when that happens, we are gonna be good.”
(Photo of Giannis Antetokounmpo: John Fisher / Getty Images)