The Milwaukee Bucks have been going to battle without Giannis Antetokounmpo for some time now, as he still tries to work himself back from his right calf strain. There should be some optimism on his return, as he's been seen working out during pregame, but there are probably still some benchmarks that he has to hit before he can be cleared to get back on the court.
Head coach Doc Rivers recently gave an update on Antetokounmpo, and it sounds like he could be getting close.
“No. He's done some 3-on-3, 4-on-4. We don't really need to go to 5-on-5. It doesn't go from 3 to 4 to 5. It's usually 4-on-4 is pretty good…No setbacks,” Rivers said via Eri Nehm of The Athletic.
Doc Rivers, on what Giannis Antetokounmpo was able to do on the floor yesterday in Milwaukee: "We were in the gym and did some 3-on-3 stuff. 4-on-4 and 3-on-3, I think, live. That was good."
Next box to check for Antetokounmpo will be live 5-on-5. https://t.co/vDps1y5PyX
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) February 22, 2026
Antetokounmpo has been dealing with calf strains throughout the past few seasons, so he probably knows the process of what needs to happen for him to return. There's also no doubt that he's itching to get back so he can help his teammates, as he wants a chance to make a playoff push in the second half of the season.
Without Antetokounmpo, the Bucks have won a few games, and they're getting contributions from several players. One of them is Cam Thomas, whom they signed before the All-Star break.
They were recently able to beat the Miami Heat, and it was Kevin Porter Jr. who led the way, finishing with 32 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
It's going to take a lot of winning for the Bucks to climb up in the standings for a possible Play-In spot, but with Antetokounmpo, they could have a good chance of doing so. The only thing is that they have to hope the teams above them start losing, which may be a tall task.
As of now, they can only focus on what they can control and hope they get their star player back sooner rather than later.
