The loss of Malcolm Brogdon is a lot more than a 50-40-90 season. It also represents the loss of leadership, instinct and basketball savvy for a Milwaukee Bucks team with the best record in the league. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is hoping for Brogdon's full recovery, despite being expected to miss the next six-to-eight weeks with a plantar fascia tear he suffered last week.

“I just wish, hope Malcolm gets back to 100 percent healthy,” Antetokounmpo said after Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “We’re going to be here, we’re going to be in the second round of the playoffs when he’s going to come in and join the team.”

Brogdon's contributions go beyond his stellar shooting line of 50.5 percent from the field, 42.6 percent from deep and a league-leading 92.8 percent from the foul line, coupled with a career-high 15.6 points per game in his third NBA season.

“He makes plays, he attacks, he finishes in the paint, he makes threes, clutch threes,” said Antetokounmpo. “Not having him out there is a huge loss for the team. He brings so much to the table. Leadership, his voice in the locker room.”

The former Rookie of the Year not only has helped catapult the Bucks into the top seed in the East, but turned them into a true championship contender thanks to his versatile play, much like Antetokounmpo's eruption into superstardom.

The Bucks will be forced to navigate the next month-and-a-half without him, a task that won't prove easy for a team expected to make waves in the postseason.