Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name can’t seem to make it out of headlines. Earlier this week, the Milwaukee Bucks star became the face of NBA discourses regarding the future of his basketball career. That remains the main talking point surrounding the Greek superstar, but there is a more imperative issue at hand. The two-time MVP suffered a calf strain, which will keep him out for 2-4 weeks. NBA insider Anthony Slater brings attention to this serious injury despite the ongoing trade buzz.
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One thing that the basketball world has learned in the past few months is how serious a calf injury can be. The 2025 NBA playoffs were a perfect example. Antetokounmpo’s former teammate, Damian Lillard, played with a lingering calf injury. Later in the playoffs, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton braved through calf injuries as well. The outcome resulted in a torn Achilles tendon for all three players.
Unfortunately, it took such serious injuries for teams to become extremely wary of calf strains. However, many people aren’t recognizing the circumstance Antetokounmpo may be in. Slater took the time to put Giannis’ situation into perspective for those at home.
“This is a scary injury,” Slater said on The Hoop Collective. “It honestly reminded me, I was covering that Warriors-Rockets series when Durant did the calf pull-up.”
The specific injury Slater is referring to took place in Game 5 of the 2019 Western Conference semi-finals. After a routine pull-up mid-range shot, Durant proceeded to run back on defense. Despite no one being around him, he looked to see if anyone had hit his right calf while grabbing it in pain.
Antetokounmpo’s injury occurred similarly. The Bucks star suffered a no-contact injury. As he was running back on defense, he collapsed to the ground, grabbing his right calf.
Of course, Durant was able to rehab and return at an All-NBA level. Nonetheless, the injury still led the 15-time All-Star to miss an entire season. A handful of other stars have suffered the same injury since Durant. The most recent came in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals.
“Tyrese Haliburton is the most recent example,” Slater stated. Of course, Haliburton would take that risk to play every single time, considering it was the most important game imaginable. However, the Pacers are suffering the impactful loss of Haliburton. They were one game away from a championship a few months ago and now they are the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference.
A calf strain is a serious injury. If there were any progress made between the Bucks and some teams regarding a Giannis trade, Slater believes this injury may have prolonged those negotiations even further.
“It’s the type of injury that if you are going to just blow all your assets to go get Giannis, you probably want to make sure that it’s not a ticking time bomb,” Slater said.
The Bucks don’t seem too concerned about Giannis’ ability to return in a month. Hopefully, he doesn’t have any setbacks, and we don’t lose another superstar to a devastating season-ending injury.
