MILWAUKEE —The Giannis Antetokounmpo saga took another twist Friday when the two-time MVP left the Milwaukee Bucks’ 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets with 34 seconds remaining due to a right calf injury. Antetokounmpo will undergo an MRI Saturday and said that he expects to miss four to six weeks, which would keep him out until after the Feb. 5 trade deadline. An official timeline will be determined after he undergoes imaging.Â
“I was feeling it the majority of the game, but did not want to stop playing. But at the end I could not move. I had to stop,” Antetokounmpo said. “For me to stop playing and not be able to move, it was extremely painful.”
Antetokounmpo missed over three weeks in December with a right soleus (calf muscle) strain, and was still on a minutes restriction for Friday’s contest. It’s unclear exactly when Antetokounmpo re-aggravated the injury, but he lacked his usual explosiveness throughout the night. Despite being limited physically, he finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists on 4 of 8 from the field and 14 of 16 from the free throw line.Â
The Bucks fell behind by as many as 23 early in the fourth quarter, but staged a furious comeback to cut the deficit to one in the final seconds. Antetokounmpo checked out with 34 seconds remaining, however, and did not return.Â
“I didn’t like what my eyes were seeing, personally,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “Giannis was defiant about staying in. On that one play you could see him trying to run down the floor, I had had enough. I didn’t ask, I just took him out. He actually wanted to go back in. That was a no for me.”
Antetokounmpo has a history of calf injuries. In addition to the right calf strain that kept him out for three weeks earlier this season, he missed over two weeks (and sat out of the All-Star Game) last season due to a left calf strain. In addition, a left calf strain kept him out of the final week of the regular season and the playoffs in 2024.Â
“I don’t think it looks great, personally,” Rivers said of Antetokounmpo’s latest injury. “This calf keeps coming up and it’s concerning. I’m not a doctor, but I’m smart enough to know that his calf keeps bothering him and there’s something that is there and it keeps happening, and that’s troublesome for all of us.”
Antetokounmpo was visibly frustrated at his locker after the game.Â
“Probably the next steps will be go to MRI tomorrow, after the MRI they will tell me probably I popped something in my calf, or my soleus, something. They’ll probably give me a protocol of four to six weeks that I’ll be out. This is from my experience being around in the NBA,” Antetokounmpo said. “After that, I’m going to work my butt off to come back. That will probably be the end of February, beginning of March. Hopefully the team will be in a place that we can at least make the Play-In or the playoffs. Just take it day-by-day, try to get better.”
It remains to be seen how long Antetokounmpo will be sidelined, but an extended absence would be a major blow. Friday’s defeat was the sixth in the last eight games for the Bucks, who are now a season-worst eight games under .500. At 18-26, they are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the final Play-In Tournament spot.Â
The Bucks do not control their first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but they will receive the least favorable of their pick and the New Orleans Pelicans’ pick. The Pelicans have the second-worst record in the league, which means it is possible for the Bucks to get a lottery selection.Â
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An extended absence for Antetokounmpo would not only affect the Bucks’ playoff chances, but throw a major wrench into the trade deadline plans for the Bucks and numerous other teams. There has been plenty of speculation about Antetokounmpo’s future ahead of the Feb. 5 deadline, and Brian Windhorst reported earlier this week that “Giannis is the trade deadline … The entire league is watching Giannis.”