Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks faced the Dallas Mavericks in their preseason opener on Saturday night, only for Giannis to suffer an injured eye just two minutes into the game. Despite the injury, Antetokounmpo played a team-high 24 minutes in Milwaukee's loss to Dallas.

The play that led to Antetokounmpo getting his eye cut open happened in the first couple of minutes. Dorian Finney-Smith of the Mavericks was attempting to grab a rebound and wound up sending an elbow towards Giannis' eye while grabbing the basketball.

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Even though it was only an exhibition game, Antetokounmpo said he wasn't going to allow himself to miss the rest of the contest due to injury.

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“If I didn’t get hurt in the eye two minutes into the game, I’d probably feel even better,” Antetokounmpo said after the game of the Milwaukee Bucks vs. Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks in the NBA preseason opening day.”But it was good to be out there, have fun with my teammates, compete. Just play basketball.”

After returning to the game, Giannis would lead all players with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and a steal in 24 minutes. However, his efforts wouldn't be enough as Dallas would defeat Milwaukee 112-102.

Of course, the elephant in the room for Antetokounmpo is whether or not he's confident in the Bucks enough to sign a long-term extension. While Milwaukee added Jrue Holiday, it remains to be seen if the rest of the players around Giannis can help him achieve an NBA title.

Most players would likely avoid further injury by sitting out of the rest of the game, especially in the preseason, if they were to get injured. As for Giannis, he's focused on improving his chemistry with his teammates ahead of the regular season no matter what.