Giannis Antetokounmpo injury: Bucks star exits game vs the Celtics with a left soleus calf strain
A hush fell over the Fiserv Forum crowd, and a confused look swept across Giannis Antetokounmpo's face with 3 minutes, 37 seconds to go in the third quarter of the Milwaukee Bucks game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.
Antetokounmpo suddenly fell to the court without contact after inbounding the ball to Damian Lillard following a Celtics basket, and he immediately grabbed at the upper part of the back of lower leg.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Bucks said that Antetokounmpo suffered a left soleus strain and was ruled out for the game, which the Bucks won 104-91. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo would under go an MRI and Achilles test.
“Anytime you see one of your teammates go down it’s a, I think, a real level of concern ," Lillard said. "We spend a lot of time around each other, more than we would our families. I think that was the number one thing. Then for it to be your best player, the most important part of our team at this point in the season, you’re just like, it was like an ‘oh (expletive)’ moment. Especially because there was nobody else around. I was right next to him so I just saw like kind of his facial expression, like his reaction.
"So, obviously I got scared. I knew we was gonna call timeout so I just dribbled up to half court. When he stood up I could tell he wanted to try and put weight on it and I saw him put some weight on it and it was like, I guess, the reaction of him doing that is what made him kind of like, almost go back down. But I saw him put weight on it. So I was like alright, it seemed stronger than what I was thinking. To see him just be able to even walk off on his own, I think that that showed me a lot. Obviously that was encouraging to see. Now you just want him to get healthy.
"We gotta do what we gotta do as a team to rally around him and can just continue to finish it out strong. I think the good thing is we still got the rest of this week and then we gonna have some time with the play-in games and hopefully he’ll be able to heal during that time. But right we just gotta finish the job. Tonight was a great win for us.”
Antetokounmpo sat for a moment and then tried to get up on his own, but needed help – and in that moment he reached down to his left leg again. Once he got to his feet he tried to walk but was clearly unsteady, and his teammates rushed to support him.
After a few steps, he was able to walk off the court and directly to the locker room under his own power. The TNT broadcast crew positioned in the hallway by the Bucks locker room showed him limping into it.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo said he spoke to his younger brother on his way to the locker room, but Thanasis acknowledged it was a bit of a blur because he knew he had to get back to the bench for the team.
He also became acutely aware all eyes were on him when he returned.
“I could see it. I could see it," Thanasis said. "Everybody was looking at me on the bench. I could feel it. I can feel like people in the stands looking at me. And, the first feeling is oh shoot, it’s my teammate’s down. Game plan. Game plan. OK, he’s down, is he OK? OK, game plan.
"My second feeling is like oh my God that’s my baby brother on the floor. What’s going on? Just hoping it’s nothing crazy. Usually you know how we’re built. For us, it’s OK, he’s down, come back. When you see the other person can’t come back, which is very rare for us not to be able to come back because we will fight through everything and we’ll live with what we have. It’s hard. That’s the hardest part because then you know it’s kind of, a little bit serious. There’s a frustration part from that side. The good part is like, we got the game, we won and we’re building good habits, especially against that team.”
Damian Lillard suffered a soleus strain in 2022
Within the concern for Antetokounmpo, Lillard did find a silver lining.
“I could tell the reaction from like that pain, it got weak, but I saw him put weight on it," the point guard said. "That was encouraging.”
Lillard was able to feel that way, in part, because he suffered a grade one strain of his right soleus on Nov. 20, 2022.
“That (expletive) it. It hurt,” he said flatly. “When I did it, usually I’m able to walk things off. I feel like I have a good, high pain tolerance. And when I did it I started to walk and it wasn’t that it was just that painful, like the muscle just can’t handle it. you know?
"I think once it calmed down you kind of figure out a way to kind of like limp around it, but it’s a weird feeling. But hearing that I know, I know that feeling. And also, as somebody who experienced that, if that’s what it is, it’s also encouraging.”
Lillard had strained his right calf on Oct. 26, 2022 that sidelined him until Nov. 7. He missed a game for injury management on that calf on Nov. 10 before suffering the soleus injury.
He returned to the court on Dec. 4, 2022 and played 32 minutes.
The Bucks play Orlando at Fiserv Forum in their home finale on Wednesday and then conclude the regular season with games in Oklahoma City on Thursday and Orlando on Sunday.
Even if they slip out of the two seed in the Eastern Conference, they will be off during the play-in games until either April 20 or 21.
“Just hope he’s OK,” Khris Middleton said. “Haven’t talked to him yet. Don’t really know the situation but hopefully he’s alright. We’re gonna need him. If he’s gotta get rest, if he’s gotta sit out these couple games to get ready for the playoffs we need him to be as close to 100% as he can be.”
What is the soleus muscle?
The calf is made up of two separate muscles, the soleus and the gastrocnemius. The Cleveland Clinic defined the soleus as a wide, flat muscle that "starts just below your knee, runs down your lower leg and connects to your Achilles tendon above your heel. Soleus injuries are less common because the muscle only crosses your ankle joint."
Antetokounmpo has dealt with ankle, Achilles issues this season
The Bucks star had surgery on his left knee in the offseason but was ready for the start of training camp. He managed left ankle soreness early in the season and also tendinitis in left Achilles tendon.
Antetokounmpo has also been dealing with pain in his left hamstring since March 10 and had missed three games with that injury.
He exited the game with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 29 minutes.
Rivers acknowledged his level of concern over the injury is "high."
“I would say that," Rivers continued. "But, he’s Giannis. I think everyone probably feels the same way as I do right now. So, we’re just gonna hope for the best.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo injury: Bucks star suffers left soleus strain
