{"id":697506,"date":"2026-04-04T09:26:52","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T09:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697506\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T09:26:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T09:26:52","slug":"giannis-antetokounmpo-declares-hes-ready-to-play-despite-bucks-decision-to-hold-him-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/697506\/","title":{"rendered":"Giannis Antetokounmpo Declares He’s Ready to Play Despite Bucks’ Decision to Hold Him Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> star Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> has not played a game since March 15<\/a>. Initially, Antetokounmpo suffered a left knee hyperextension and a bone bruise against the Indiana Pacers<\/a>. Since then, he has been out of the lineup, and it looks like that will remain the same until the 2025-26 NBA<\/a> season ends.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Antetokounmpo spoke with local reporters ahead of the Bucks’ game against the Boston Celtics<\/a>. The one-time champion was visibly frustrated that he hadn’t returned from his injury. He expressed his desire to continue playing the current campaign, despite the team not being qualified for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Giannis Antetokounmpo Claims the Bucks Have Forced Him to Sit Out\"Milwaukee<\/p>\n

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34)Benny Sieu-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

(Benny Sieu-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

According to a report from ESPN<\/a> on March 19, the Bucks want to shut Antetokounmpo down for the remainder of the season. However, the Greek Freak refused the team’s request. Still, because he suffered a knee injury, the team has consistently ruled him out of participating in games.<\/p>\n

He told reporters on Friday that he’s ready and available to be on the floor with his teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel good. I\u2019ve said this since day one, since the second day, since the third day after the injury\u2026 I felt good to go,\u201d Antetokounmpo said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Antetokounmpo said that he didn’t want to have an MRI on his knee after the injury because he knew how to deal with it. According to the Bucks star, he just needed a few days to rest, and he felt ready to be back on the floor.<\/p>\n

He also knows that the team doesn’t have enough to be in the postseason. However, he still feels strongly that he should be on the floor with his teammates, regardless of the outcome of the regular season.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I understand the circumstances? Yes,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to make the playoffs \u2026 For some people\u2019s eyes, it\u2019s not worth it for me to be out there. But for me, it\u2019s something that goes against my nature, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Antetokounmpo understands that the Bucks need to follow injury protocols. But he insisted that he’s healthy and ready to suit up against the Celtics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m available to play today. Right now. I\u2019m available. Do I look like I\u2019m not available?<\/p>\n

The Bucks star also told the media that he talked to head coach Doc Rivers<\/a> and general manager Jon Horst after he was injured. However, the team has not initiated another conversation with him after that. According to Antetokounmpo, no one has contacted him to discuss the possibility of reentering the lineup.<\/p>\n

To resolve the situation, Antetokounmpo urged an investigation into his case with the Bucks. The team has five games left in the season, and fans aren’t sure if they’ll see Antetokounmpo play before the team’s early offseason.<\/p>\n

Due to injuries, the two-time MVP has been limited to 36 games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related: Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Announces Off-Court News Amid NBA Season<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Apr 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has not played a game since March 15. Initially, Antetokounmpo suffered a left…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694369,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3775],"tags":[7,75,103,123,126,2841,102,121,3871,6,361],"class_list":{"0":"post-697506","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-milwaukee-bucks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-boston-celtics","10":"tag-bucks","11":"tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","12":"tag-indiana-pacers","13":"tag-knee-injury","14":"tag-milwaukee","15":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","16":"tag-milwaukeebucks","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-the-bucks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116345729641520604","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697506","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=697506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}