![\"Giannis](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2257828034_e2d15c-e1769521073451.jpg\")
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Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts against the Atlanta Hawks during the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena on January 19, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. <\/p>\n
The Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> have confirmed that Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> suffered a severe calf strain when he went down with a non-contact injury<\/a> during the 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets<\/a> last Friday.<\/p>\n After a shootaround on Monday, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers detailed the results of the MRI that Antetokounmpo underwent last Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cMRI has revealed exactly what we thought,\u201d Rivers said on Monday, via EuroHoops.<\/a> \u201cCalf strain, and really no timetable for return. Hopefully, like it was before, sooner, but there\u2019s no timetable.\u201d<\/p>\n Giannis Antetokounmpo Return Timeline?<\/p>\n While Rivers refused to provide a timetable for Antetokounmpo\u2019s return, the two-time MVP noted last Friday that he\u2019d likely be out of commission for at least four to six weeks<\/a>. Based on that timeline, the \u201cGreek Freak\u201d may not return until March or mid-March, by which point the Bucks would likely be squarely out of play-in contention.<\/p>\n As such, could the Bucks potentially shut Antetokounmpo down for the season?<\/p>\n \u201cNo thought to that,\u201d Rivers responded.<\/p>\n \u201cBut listen, there\u2019s no timetable either. We thought we had waited longer the first time. And at points, he was 100%. But there are calf strains all over the league. I can\u2019t give you the answer why. And it\u2019s happening to the high-quality players, too.\u201d<\/p>\n There is a mysterious nature attached to the latest Giannis injury, with some analysts pointing out how it was rather strange for Rivers and the Bucks not to offer a return timetable. Furthermore, his comments about the recent trend of calf injuries leading to Achilles tears<\/a> \u2014 to stars such as Jayson Tatum<\/a> and Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> \u2014 could have been code for the Bucks fearing the same for their longtime franchise star.<\/p>\n Giannis Trade Rumors Refuse to Die Down<\/p>\n Adding to the mystery element is the speculation that Antetokounmpo actually popped something in his calf early in Friday\u2019s game and yet played 32 minutes.<\/p>\n Rivers addressed that chatter, too.<\/p>\n \u201cI asked our guys afterwards,\u201d Rivers said, via NBA.com.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAs I said, I was concerned at halftime. He\u2019s been very honest. Most of the time, he\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s hurting, but it\u2019s not bad.\u2019 That\u2019s what he\u2019s relaying to medical, and they have to believe him. I think he\u2019s been pretty good overall. He takes himself out.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why they left him in, because he kept saying, \u2018I\u2019m fine. I\u2019m fine.\u2019 Visually, I kept asking. I\u2019m not involved in that decision-making part, but I know what I see. I kept asking. That\u2019s a tough one.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest Giannis Antetokounmpo injury has not put an end to the rumors of the Bucks potentially exploring a trade for the 2021 NBA<\/a> Finals MVP, either by the Feb. 5 trade deadline or this offseason. One GM told Heavy Sports\u2019 Sean Deveney<\/a> that a desperate team like the New York Knicks<\/a> or Golden State Warriors<\/a> could pursue a Giannis trade within the next few weeks, viewing the injury as an excuse to buy low.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s had calf issues for a long time,\u201d the GM said of the Greek supestar. \u201cIt is not something that would scare anyone off. If anything, it maybe makes the Bucks see the writing on the wall and take the idea of trading him now more seriously.<\/p>\n \u201cIt still probably waits until the summer, but if the right deal is there and a team is desperate enough\u2013think of the Knicks, the Warriors, the Heat\u2013the Bucks probably know nothing is going to change and pull the trigger now.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSai Mohan<\/a> covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Bucks\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks reacts against the Atlanta Hawks during the fourth quarter at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":564216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3775],"tags":[7,103,102,121,3871,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-564215","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-milwaukee-bucks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bucks","10":"tag-milwaukee","11":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","12":"tag-milwaukeebucks","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115967687803344969","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/564215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/564216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=564215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=564215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}