Bucks guard Kevin Porter speaks for first time on ankle, knee injuries
Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter speaks for first time on his ankle and knee injuries following court work on Nov. 19, 2025.
Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. suffered a left ankle injury minutes into the season opener on Oct. 22.While recovering from the ankle injury, Porter tore the meniscus in his right knee during a workout.He underwent surgery on Nov. 3 and is expected to return to the court in early December.Coach Doc Rivers noted Porter’s absence is a significant loss for the team on both offense and defense.
Minutes into the start of Kevin Porter Jr.’s season on Oct. 22, the pause button was slammed. The 25-year-old was sliding back on defense when he stepped on the foot of Milwaukee Bucks teammate Bobby Portis Jr., buckling Porter’s left ankle. He went right to the baseline in obvious pain and remained down for a bit before being able to walk to the locker room under his own power.
In 9 minutes 25 seconds of action against Washington that night at Fiserv Forum, Porter scored 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting – punctuated by a poster-worthy dunk. He also had two assists and a steal, an impressive opening flourish for a player who began the year full of expectation. The good news, at least, was he had avoided a serious ankle injury.
“All the work that carries into that very first game, then to not be able to finish, that sucked,” Porter said Nov. 19 in his first public comments since the injury. “But I knew my guys would hold it down and I know they’ll hold it down while I’m gone and rehabbing.”
But eight days after the ankle injury, in a full-contact workout necessary to be cleared to play again, Porter tore the meniscus in his right knee. He said he wasn’t sure when it happened, but later in the day he noticed a bump sticking out of his knee, along with feeling some pain.
“That definitely was a bummer,” he said of the most recent injury. “The best thing that I have is a great organization, I have great players, I have a great household and a great family, so all those things together has kept me above water. I know I’m going to be back, so that also, knowing that there’s opportunity to come play this year is definitely helpful.”
Surgery was required to repair the damaged cartilage, and it was Porter’s first. He added he has anxiety around doctors anyway, so the early stages of the process had him a bit down.
“Just instinctively, I’m like aw, man, surgery doesn’t sound too good,” he said. “But talked to the doc, made sure the procedure and the progression of things weren’t as bad. I had a very easy – as the docs would say, a ‘very easy surgery.’ I think any surgery is hard, but we’re just gonna say that. It was a good assurance for me going into the surgery knowing that you’re gonna be back, you know it’s going to be a work in progress but you will be able to play this season. I think that was the main factor for me, being able to come back and knowing that I can come back relatively sooner rather than later.”
He underwent surgery Nov. 3, and the team announced he could be back on the court in early December. Bucks coach Doc Rivers felt that timeline remained accurate following Porter’s individual work on the court Nov. 19.
Porter said ramping up his physical activity while keeping the swelling down are the main focus now, and he is excited about the ability to return to the court. He noted teammate Taurean Prince had a serious injury (neck surgery) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (groin strain) had also been hurt, as well as bevy of serious injuries around the league.
“I just have to count my blessings,” Porter said. “It’s a blessing in disguise that I’m able to come back from the surgery. It’s crazy to me. So, I just count the blessings, man.”
Porter’s return will be a boost for the team, also, as Rivers had not been shy in saying how big of a loss Porter has been.
“It’s a tough one,” the coach said after Porter’s surgery was announced. “Because if you circle the guys like − you don’t want anyone getting injured − but you have to circle obviously Giannis and then second one probably would’ve been (Porter) because of what he means to us on both ends of the floor, his size, his ability to get to the paint. So, right when it happened, I said it early, we have to weather this storm. He’s got 4, 4½ weeks and we have to try to squeeze out as many wins as we can. ‘Cause it’s hard. You can see the minutes and the intensity ramping up on Ryan (Rollins) and Cole (Anthony), and it’s hurting ’em. We just gotta get through.”
Acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers for MarJon Beauchamp at the trade deadline last season, Porter was a solid addition off the bench as he averaged 11.7 points on 40.8% shooting from behind the 3-point line. But in his final 12 games of the regular season, Porter averaged 15.3 points, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals while all-star point guard Damian Lillard was out with an injury.