Giannis Discusses Timeline to Return to Bucks from Calf Injury Amid 2026 NBA All-Star Break

Given the Milwaukee Bucks' struggles through the first half of the season, many have wondered whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will sit out the rest of the year and shift the focus towards the 2026-27 campaign.

Antetokounmpo shut down that notion on Tuesday, saying that he's nearing his return from his recent calf injury.

"I'm healthy today, I just got to check the boxes," he said on NBA Today. "I gotta play one-on-one, three-on-three, five-on-five. The moment I do that, that can be the next game."

Antetokounmpo suffered a calf injury in late January and was initially given a four-to-six-week timeline. That timeline would have his first game back be this Friday's contest against the New Orleans Pelicans, which is also Milwaukee's first game back from the All-Star Break.

"After the MRI, they will tell me, probably, I popped something in my calf on my soleus or something," Antetokounmpo told reporters. "This is from my experience being around the NBA."

It's the second calf injury he's dealt with this season, as he also missed several weeks in December.

After his second calf injury, there was some speculation that Antetokounmpo would sit out the rest of the season before being traded this offseason.

"I think he's played his last game in a Bucks uniform," ESPN's Marc Spears said in January. "I mean, cause there's so much benefit for him not playing. One, you could make a trade for him now with Atlanta and get that generational piece, the No. 1 pick or No. 2 pick. If you play him, and you win, that just pushes that potential pick back further."

When healthy, Antetokounmpo has once again been outstanding, putting up 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game this year. As fierce a competitor as he is, it's hard to imagine the two-time MVP will miss more time than he has to, even though the Bucks are currently out of playoff position.

Milwaukee is currently sitting in 12th place in the East at 23-30, a game and a half back from the play-in tournament and six and a half games back from the sixth-placed Philadelphia 76ers.

Making the playoffs is not impossible for the Bucks, but they would certainly need Antetokounmpo back on the court soon.