After the way Giannis Antetokounmpo started his week, this was the last thing Milwaukee needed. The Bucks star had only just returned from injury—while also brushing off talk about being “checked out”—when disaster struck in the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons.

Moments after setting up AJ Green for a layup, Giannis suddenly went down, clutching his leg. It happened barely three minutes into the game, with the Bucks already trailing 4–10. Early indications suggested a possible tendon issue, leaving Milwaukee on edge.

The cameras captured his brother Thanassis looking very tense on the bench while the rest of their teammates help Giannis up. Giannis walked himself to the locker and Thanassis followed. Neither have returned yet.

The team officially ruled him out for the rest of the game after the first quarter ended. According to the initial report, Giannis suffered a calf strain in his right leg. Giannis had 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist by then. Bucks are down 21-30 going into the second quarter.

It was a non-contact injury except a little brush with a Pistons player while passing the ball to Green. Giannis had a somewhat delayed reaction. Given the way this week has gone, fans have a little hard time empathizing.

Doc Rivers Sheds Light on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Injury

After the game, Doc Rivers told reporters that the team doesn’t believe Giannis had an Achilles injury, despite his claim to have hurt his tendon. “Yeah, I think we’ve ruled that out honestly,” referring to an Achilles injury, while noting it was not entirely non-contact.

He is currently being evaluated, and the results will be known after some imaging. It appears that Rivers is not letting further rumors get out of hand.

A left groin strain sidelined Giannis Antetokounmpo for four games last month. So his return came with a little fanfare. Until his third game back against the Washington Wizards ended in a 129-126 loss for the Bucks.

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Giannis was great offensively, scoring 26 points. But the Bucks’ defensive lapses overall were glaring. There were points in the game where spectators felt Giannis was upset that Doc Rivers didn’t contest the refs on his behalf. At other times, it seemed the Greek Freak was not himself.

Then right after the game, Giannis scrubbed traces of the Bucks off his social media, barring the 2024-25 NBA Cup celebrations. That sparked rumors that he had checked out before NBA insiders actually reported that his agent had asked for a trade.

Now Giannis Antetokounmpo is the favorite trade target because of rumors that Doc Rivers has dismissed. Rivers vehemently said, “There have been no conversations. I want to make it clear, I would say one more time, but for the 50th time. . .Giannis has never asked to be traded, ever. I can’t make that more clear.”

Yet he’s not convinced fans. Until last week, fans would’ve been clutching their chests and pulling their hair at the thought of Giannis’ re-injury. Now they’re cynical.

Especially given its non-contact nature. Antetokounmpo looked fine to the casual observer before he fell to the floor and declared he had hurt his tendon.

But the risk of re-aggravating an injury or causing a new one from favoring one side was always there. Since the team ruled him out, we have to assume it’s that bad. If it entails missing a game or more remains to be seen.