Giannis Antetokounmpo Injury Clouds Bucks Playoff Hopes

The Milwaukee Bucks are staring down a critical stretch of the NBA season with uncertainty swirling around their superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo. On Friday night at Fiserv Forum, the Bucks suffered their second consecutive defeat, falling 102-100 to a severely short-handed Denver Nuggets squad. But the loss on the scoreboard was overshadowed by an even bigger blow: Antetokounmpo exited in the final seconds with a right calf injury, leaving both his team and fans holding their breath.

Antetokounmpo, the nine-time All-NBA forward and two-time MVP, had his right calf wrapped in the first half, a sign of trouble that would only worsen as the game progressed. Despite logging 32 minutes and putting up a stat line of 22 points (on 4-of-8 shooting and an impressive 14-of-16 from the free throw line), 13 rebounds, and seven assists, Giannis was visibly hampered. Head coach Doc Rivers, who’s seen his share of NBA drama, watched with growing concern as his star player limped and grimaced through the second half.

“I thought he was favoring it for most of the second half personally,” Rivers said in his postgame press conference, as reported by Eric Nehm of The Athletic and echoed by CBS Sports. “I asked our team five different times. I didn’t like what my eyes were seeing, personally. Giannis was defiant about staying in.”

That determination is classic Antetokounmpo, but even his iron will couldn’t override the pain. With just 34.2 seconds remaining and the Bucks trailing by five, Rivers made the call. “On that one play, you could see him trying to run down the floor,” Rivers continued. “To me, 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.” The coach later admitted, “I don’t think it looks great, honestly. 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, who had previously missed eight games earlier in the season with a similar right calf issue, didn’t sugarcoat his own prognosis. “At the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop playing,” he told reporters after the game. “After the MRI, they will tell me probably I popped something in my calf, or in my soleus or something, probably give me a protocol of four to six weeks I’ll be out. This is from my experience being around the NBA. After that, I’m going to work my butt off to come back. That will probably be end of February, beginning of March.”

The Bucks, now 18-26 and sitting 11th in the Eastern Conference, have lost five of their last six games and are 2.5 games away from the Play-In zone. The timing couldn’t be worse. Milwaukee has gone just 3-11 in games Antetokounmpo has missed this season, and the team’s playoff hopes are suddenly on shaky ground. “Hopefully, the team is in a place that we can at least make the Play-Ins or Playoffs,” Giannis said, his focus already shifting to the team’s future without him on the court.

For Antetokounmpo, the injury is more than just a setback for his team. With only 38 games left in the regular season and having played 30 so far, missing four or more games will make him ineligible for end-of-season awards due to the NBA’s 65-game rule. “For sure, you’re a little bit frustrated, but it doesn’t matter. That’s not where we are right now mentally, as a team, as a player. I’m not there,” he reflected, choosing perspective over personal accolades. “You can be out for 12 months, 18 months. So, being out for two, three, four, five, six weeks, whatever the case may be, I will not be in the All-NBA. For sure, you’re a little bit frustrated, but it doesn’t matter.”

His resilience was evident throughout the game. “I don’t like to quit,” Antetokounmpo insisted. “I felt like I couldn’t explode. I could jog. I couldn’t get on my toes, so I was kind of jogging on my heel the majority of the game. I didn’t have the same explosiveness, but I still felt like I could help. At the end, when it popped, I had to get out. I couldn’t walk.”

The Bucks were not the only team hit by injuries on Friday night. Denver’s Aaron Gordon, who scored 13 points in the first half, sat out the second half with a right hamstring strain—a cruel twist for a Nuggets team already missing Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson, and Jonas Valanciunas. Despite being undermanned, Denver managed to pull out the narrow victory, adding to Milwaukee’s woes.

For Milwaukee, the immediate future is filled with questions. Antetokounmpo will undergo an MRI on Saturday, January 24, 2026, to determine the full extent of his injury. The results will dictate just how long the Bucks will be without their franchise cornerstone. With a home game against the Dallas Mavericks looming on Sunday, the team’s rotation and morale hang in the balance. For now, Antetokounmpo’s status is officially uncertain.

Adding another wrinkle to the drama, trade rumors had been swirling around Antetokounmpo this season. Now, with the possibility of a four-to-six-week absence, any potential deals could be thrown into disarray. The Bucks’ front office, already under pressure to turn the season around, will have to weigh their options carefully as the trade deadline approaches.

As the Bucks look ahead, the challenge is clear: survive—and perhaps even thrive—without their leader. Coach Rivers, for his part, is focused on the team’s response. “He knew he should have been out. There was no disagreement or anything like that,” Rivers said, emphasizing the mutual understanding between coach and player. The Bucks’ supporting cast will need to step up in a big way if they hope to keep their postseason dreams alive.

Injuries are part of the NBA grind, but losing a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber is a gut punch for any team. Milwaukee’s resilience will be tested in the coming weeks, and fans can only hope that Giannis’s relentless work ethic and positive outlook will lead to a swift and full recovery. As he put it, “After that, I am going to work my butt off to come back.”

With the MRI scheduled and the Bucks’ season at a crossroads, all eyes are on Milwaukee. The next few weeks could define not only the Bucks’ playoff hopes but the future of one of the NBA’s brightest stars. For now, the only certainty is uncertainty—and the anticipation of what comes next.