Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo exited Friday night’s 102-100 home loss to the Denver Nuggets due to a right calf injury, the two-time NBA MVP revealed after the game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo To Undergo An MRI
Antetokounmpo, 31, told reporters that he expects the calf injury will sideline him for at least four to six weeks. The nine-time All-Star is slated to undergo an MRI on Saturday for further evaluation of the injury.
The 6-foot-11 wing said the calf injury is similar to the one he dealt with earlier this season.
“After the MRI, they will tell me, probably, I popped something in my calf on my soleus or something,” Antetokounmpo said Friday. “This is from my experience being around the NBA.”
"I'm gonna work my butt off to come back."
Giannis speaks on his injury. pic.twitter.com/1PQeMeDnd0
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 24, 2026
Antetokounmpo appeared to suffer the injury during the first quarter and headed to the locker room for an evaluation, according to ESPN’s Jamal Collier.
The Bucks star returned to the game wearing a wrap around his right calf and played through the injury.
“I was feeling it majority of the game but did not want to stop playing,” Antetokounmpo said. “But at the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop.”
Doc Rivers Wanted To Pull Antetokounmpo
Bucks coach Doc Rivers wanted to take Antetokounmpo out of the game earlier on when he noticed the former first-rounder was favoring his leg for most of the second half.
Although Rivers “didn’t like what he was seeing” from Antetokounmpo, the Greek Freak was “defiant” about staying in the game. He ended his night with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in 32 minutes.
“I asked our [medical] team five different times,” Rivers said. “I didn’t like what my eyes were seeing, personally. Giannis was defiant about staying in.
“On that one play, you could see him trying to run down the floor, [so] I had enough. I didn’t ask, I just took him out. He actually wanted to go back in. That was a no for me. He knew he should have been out. There was no disagreement or anything like that.”
Bucks Star Has History Of Calf Injuries
The nine-time All-NBA member has suffered multiple calf injuries in recent years.
In December, Antetokounmpo missed three weeks because of a right soleus strain, the same injury that sidelined him for Milwaukee’s first-round series with the Indiana Pacers during the 2024 playoffs.
“This calf keeps coming up and it’s concerning,” Rivers said. “I’m not a doctor, but I’m smart enough to know that his calf keeps bothering him and there’s something that is there. It keeps happening, and that’s troublesome for all of us.”
The Bucks (18-26) have lost five of their past six games. Milwaukee sits 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing the Atlanta Hawks by 2½ games for the No. 10 seed.
Milwaukee is 3-11 this season without Antetokounmpo.
