PORTLAND, Ore. — Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers rejected the National Basketball Players Association’s claim that the Bucks are keeping a healthy Giannis Antetokounmpo out of games against the star forward’s wishes.
“He’s not (healthy),” Rivers said when asked about the NBPA’s assertion that Antetokounmpo is healthy and not being allowed to play so the Bucks can improve their NBA Draft lottery positioning by tanking. “He’s progressing. He’s just not healthy.”
The Bucks listed Antetokounmpo as out for a fifth consecutive game Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers with a bone bruise stemming from a left knee hyperextension suffered on March 15. The two-time MVP had an awkward landing after a dunk through contact in the third quarter of Milwaukee’s 134-123 win over the Indiana Pacers that day.
“Our focus right now is just getting him healthy,” Rivers continued. “We’re just trying to get Giannis cleared and healthy; that’s our only focus. All the other stuff, we stay above.”
Antetokounmpo told reporters after the Pacers game that he felt confident he wouldn’t need imaging on his knee. Yet, the team made him undergo an MRI on his left knee the following day. Rivers called the imaging on Antetokounmpo’s left knee “really good news” before the Bucks’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 17 and told reporters the image was clean and revealed no ligament damage.
Despite that positive update, Antetokounmpo has been ruled out of Milwaukee’s four-game Western Conference road trip. The Athletic reported on March 18 that the Bucks approached Antetokounmpo about being shut down for the season, but the 10-time All-Star rejected the idea.
That reporting contributed to the NBPA’s assertion that the Bucks are holding out Antetokounmpo as part of a recently implemented tanking strategy. Rivers denied that idea, as well.
“We didn’t have a meeting about this (statement from the NBPA),” Rivers said. “We didn’t have one discussion. (General manager) Jon Horst didn’t call me to talk about this, just to show you the concern we have.”
After the NBA’s Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday, commissioner Adam Silver told reporters he wasn’t aware of the issue with the Bucks until the NBPA issued its statement on Tuesday.
“We knew Giannis was injured,” Silver said. “He was within the usual period it was taking to come back from that injury, so I was a bit surprised by that (news) release. Yes, when our players’ association, our union, announces they see an issue, of course we’ll look into it. So, that’s where it currently stands.
“I believe they’ve already announced he’s not playing in their game tonight … since that announcement came out. So, I have not heard directly — certainly from Giannis, or the league hasn’t heard from Giannis — to say that he feels he should be on the court right now. But that’s something we will look into.”
When asked about Silver’s comments from Wednesday afternoon, Rivers suggested that the league’s looking into an injury is just normal operating procedure.
“I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Rivers said. “Maybe you don’t know this, but they look into every injury. This is nothing new. Probably because it’s been talked about, (Silver) felt the need to say something, but I’ve not been on a team where, when you have injuries, they don’t look at it. So, I don’t think it’s anything new.”
The Bucks (29-42) do not play again until Saturday, when they take on the San Antonio Spurs in the first game of a back-to-back. They are not technically eliminated from playoff contention yet, but they trail the Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat — who are in a three-way tie for the final three spots in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament — by 8 1/2 games.
