MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Milwaukee Bucks expect star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to return from a right calf strain and play on the road against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night, league and team sources confirmed to The Athletic.
Antetokounmpo’s likely return, which was first noted by Memphis Grizzlies television play-by-play announcer Pete Pranica at the start of the FanDuel Sports Network broadcast of Friday’s game between Memphis and Milwaukee, will come after an eight-game absence. To play against the Bulls, though, Antetokounmpo will still need to clear the pregame tests required by the Bucks’ training staff to be cleared for action.
Antetokounmpo suffered the injury early in the first quarter of the Bucks’ game against the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 3. After earning a shocking win over Detroit without Antetokounmpo, the Bucks (12-19) have won just two of the eight games he has missed.
When speaking with reporters on Dec. 18, Antetokounmpo revealed he had suffered a right soleus strain. That same injury on his left calf ended his 2023-24 campaign and kept him from participating in the Bucks’ first-round loss to the Indiana Pacers that postseason.
This season, Antetokounmpo has averaged 28.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 29.1 minutes per game while shooting a career-high 63.9 percent from the field. The Bucks are 10-7 this season in games in which Antetokounmpo has played and 2-12 in games that he has missed.
Antetokounmpo has appeared in only 17 of the Bucks’ 31 games and has been forced to leave two more of those early because of injuries suffered in game action. Antetokounmpo left the Bucks’ 118-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers near the end of the first half with a left adductor strain on Nov. 17. He subsequently missed the next four games before returning to action on Nov. 28 against the New York Knicks.
The nine-time All-Star has been ramping up to getting back on the floor with the Bucks’ training staff since suffering his latest injury. He has been present at the team’s shootarounds on the road over the last week. Most recently, he was seen participating in a full-contact three-on-three session following the pregame shootaround for Milwaukee’s game against the Pacers on Tuesday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (right calf strain) is listed as out for tonight’s game against the Pacers, but he did play 3-on-3 for 10-15 minutes after today’s shootaround in Indianapolis. pic.twitter.com/pODIovqTTL
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) December 23, 2025
Despite his absence from the court, Antetokounmpo has been one of the most prevalent names in trade rumors around the league since an ESPN report suggested the Bucks’ all-time leading scorer and his representation had approached the team about his future with the franchise.
“I’m still locked in, locked in on my teammates. Most importantly, locked in on me getting back healthy,” Antetokounmpo told reporters on Dec. 18 in response to those rumors. “And then, locked in on my teammates and how can I help them from the sideline or encourage them to be able to play and play free?
“Because at the end of the day, it takes a toll on them, too, right? They’re playing game after game after game. Thank God we’ve had a very good schedule in the last couple of weeks, but it takes a toll on them, too — rumors, injuries, lose, win. It’s hard, right? As a leader, but most importantly as a winner, you just gotta be there for them first.”
While teams around the league continue to hope that Milwaukee will ultimately make Antetokounmpo available, the Bucks have conveyed a desire to add talent to their roster before this season’s trade deadline, league sources told The Athletic.
