Giannis Antetokounmpo injury update: Doc Rivers provides latest news on Bucks sta originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Amid rumors of an impending trade demand, nine-time All-NBA Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a concerning leg injury, incurred through minimal (or, perhaps, no) contact, during an eventual home win against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJamal Collier of ESPN reports that the 30-year-old superstar has officially been diagnosed with a right calf strain.
After the game, head coach Doc Rivers told gathered reporters that Milwaukee did not believe Antetokounmpo had damaged his Achilles tendon, per Collier.
Per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, the former two-time league MVP is undergoing an MRI on Wednesday night, and Milwaukee should have more intel on the exact extent of the damage soon.
Antetokounmpo fell on the hardwood and stayed down until the Bucks' medical team could attend to him. Rivers claimed following the game that Detroit center Jalen Duren had some contact with Antetokounmpo before the fall. Antetokounmpo was helped up, but walked to the locker room under his own power.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAntetokounmpo recently sat out four bouts due to a strained left adductor — all of which Milwaukee lost.
Before the game Wednesday, ESPN's Shams Charania indicated that Antetokounmpo and his agent Alex Saratsis had been talking about his future with the team, which has now improved its record to a still-middling 10-13 on the year.
Rivers suggested ahead of the game that "there's been no conversations" about a Milwaukee deal to offload Antetokounmpo, although in fairness that's exactly what the head coach of a team that currently has Giannis Antetokounmpo would likely say regardless.
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