Even before the 2025–26 NBA season, the marriage between the Milwaukee Bucks and franchise superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was already on thin ice. The Greek Freak wants to win championships, but the Bucks only have early playoff exits to show for it in the four years since the superstar and the franchise won it all in 2021.
Now, Milwaukee will likely miss the playoffs entirely as it is facing a crucial four- to six-week stretch without Antetokounmpo, who injured his right calf in the Bucks’ 102-100 home loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday—their second straight loss and sixth in the last ten games.
While there’s no official diagnosis yet as of this writing, Antetokounmpo isn’t too optimistic, noting that he felt something pop and that he could be out for four to six weeks. It should also be noted that the two-time NBA MVP missed eight games earlier this season with the same calf injury that he sustained against the Nuggets, who won despite missing Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
The Unraveling of the Bucks and Antetokounmpo
Milwaukee is already in the midst of a trying stretch, with three of their past five losses all coming via blowouts, including listless efforts against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves at home.
With Antetokounmpo likely to be out for another extended period, the Bucks will likely sink deeper in the standings. That would be disastrous for Milwaukee, which at 18-26 is already trailing the Atlanta Hawks for the tenth and final play-in spot by two full games.
Notably, Antetokounmpo looked like he had checked out mentally against the Nuggets, at one point not getting back on defense and seemingly gazing into nothingness during timeouts. He also gave his team a brutal rebuke after their 122-102 loss to OKC at Fiserv Forum, telling reporters postgame that the Bucks were “not playing hard,” “aren’t doing the right thing,” “not playing to win,” and “not playing together.”
Should the Greek Freak return to a Bucks squad entirely out of the playoff picture, it could ultimately be the final straw that drives Antetokounmpo out of Milwaukee. If so, it would mark an unfortunate and ugly divorce for what has been a largely successful and inspiring partnership.
