Doc Rivers provides an update on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s calf injuries

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo left Friday night’s 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets after suffering a non-contact right calf injury in the final minute as Milwaukee attempted a late comeback at Fiserv Forum.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers confirmed after the game that Antetokounmpo was out with a calf injury. He said he noticed Antetokounmpo favoring his leg for much of the second half, prompting him to intervene.

“I thought he favored it because of the workload for most of the second half personally,” Rivers said. “I asked our (medical) team five different times. I personally didn’t like what my eyes were seeing.”

Despite Antetokounmpo’s desire to stay on the floor, Rivers decided to pull him without question.

“Giannis was defiant to stay in,” he said. “On that one play, you could see him trying to run down the floor. I had enough. I didn’t ask, I just took him out. He actually wanted to come back. That was a no for me.”

Rivers clarified that there were no disagreements between the two after that.

“He was supposed to come out. There was no disagreement or anything like that,” Rivers explained.

The injury appeared to affect the two-time NBA MVP earlier, as he left the floor during the first quarter and returned with a wrap around his right calf. Although physically compromised, he persevered through 32 minutes of action, collecting 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor and 14-of-16 from the line.

Antetokounmpo confirmed after the game that he will undergo an MRI on Saturday to assess the injury.

“Probably the next steps will be to go for an MRI tomorrow, after the MRI, they’ll tell me that I probably popped something in the lower leg, or the boat, something. They’ll probably give me a four-to-six week protocol to be out. This is from my experience in the NBA,” Antetokounmpo said. “After that I’ll try to get back. It’ll probably be late February, early March. Hopefully the team will be in a place where we can at least make the playoffs or the playoffs. Just take it day by day, try to get better.”

Expressing concern over the repetitive nature of the injury, Rivers he said:

“I don’t think it looks great personally. This calf keeps coming up and it’s worrisome. I’m not a doctor, but I’m smart enough to know that his calf is still bothering him. Something is there, and it keeps happening, and it’s problematic for all of us.”

Antetokounmpo missed eight games earlier this season after suffering a right calf strain on Dec. 3 and returned on Dec. 27. He has now missed a total of 16 games this season due to various injuries. In 30 games played, the 10k NBA All-Star is averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 29.2 minutes per game.

The loss dropped Milwaukee to 18-26, putting the Bucks in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the final play-in spot. Milwaukee has gone 3-11 in games Antetokounmpo has missed this season and has lost five of its last six games overall.

Antetokounmpo’s expected absence would also make him ineligible for season-ending awards due to the NBA’s 65-game minimum rule. With just 38 games remaining in the regular season, missing four additional games would eliminate him from consideration.