Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a potentially scary injury in Tuesday's win against the Boston Celtics. The Milwaukee Bucks played one of their best games against the league's best teams after one of their worst stretches this season, but the status of their best player is up in the air after the win.
Antetokounmpo appeared to suffer a non-contact injury in the third quarter and immediately left the game.
This is…not good.
Giannis down on the floor; no contact. Had to be helped off the court but was walking a bit on his own on the way into the locker room. pic.twitter.com/SrXhKNtqgt— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) April 10, 2024
After the game, Bucks reporter Kyle Malzhan said Antetokounmpo left the arena with a significant limp, and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Antetokounmpo would undergo an MRI.
Antetokounmpo will undergo an MRI on his left calf, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/AHJpg0Baiz
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 10, 2024
Antetokounmpo's injury had a major impact on their NBA championship odds. Entering Tuesday's game, the Bucks were +800 to win the NBA title this season, behind the Celtics (+170) and the Nuggets (+360), and ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers (+850). After tonight's game, the Bucks have fallen behind the Clippers down to +1100. The Bucks maintain their 1.5-game lead over the Orlando Magic, who they face the Magic twice in their final three games of the regular season.
Antetokounmpo's injury places major concern on a team that has not played well in the late stage of the regular season. When Bucks head coach Doc Rivers was asked for his level of concern about the injury by reporters during the postgame interview, he didn't mince words.
"High," Rivers said, frankly. "I think everyone probably feels the same way as I do right now so we're just going to hope for the best."
