Giannis Antetokounmpo injury update: Bucks star closing in on return

The Milwaukee Bucks are in the midst of a losing streak and their star player is pushing team officials to return from injury as fast as possible.

Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t played in an NBA game since suffering a strained adductor in the Bucks’ Nov. 17 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee is winless since then as it enters another NBA Cup matchup against the New York Knicks on Friday, Nov. 28. But he wants to return soon. So soon that Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers and the Bucks’ medical team elected to slow Antetokounmpo down before their most recent setback, a three-point loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

Antetokounmpo’s injury status was nonetheless upgraded earlier this week, and he wants to come back with the Bucks sliding down the Eastern Conference standings after an encouraging start to the 2025-26 season. Here’s the latest on Antetokounmpo’s injury situation as Milwaukee tries to snap its six-game losing skid:

Is Giannis Antetokounmpo playing today?

Maybe. For the second game in a row, the Bucks have listed Antetokounmpo as questionable ahead of their NBA Cup game against the New York Knicks on Friday, Nov. 28.

Antetokounmpo was listed as questionable before the Bucks’ NBA Cup game on Wednesday, but was ruled out before tip off as Milwaukee suffered a 106-103 loss to the Miami Heat.

Giannis Antetokounmpo injury update

The 30-year-old forward has missed Milwaukee’s past four games after suffering an adductor strain in a Nov. 17 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Antetokounmpo was initially expected to miss one to two weeks of action, according to ESPN, and he’s made tangible progress in recent days.

After Antetokounmpo was upgraded to questionable for the Heat game after participating in a pregame workout before the Bucks’ loss to the Portland Trail Blazers two days earlier. He participated in shootaround at Kaseya Center in Miami, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, but coach Doc Rivers told reporters Antetokounmpo did not finish the session. Rivers later clarified this was at the behest of the medical staff, and to his relief, and not related to a setback in Antetokounmpo’s recovery.

‘I was very happy we decided what we decided,’ Rivers said after the Bucks’ Nov. 26 game against the Heat. ‘I was very uncomfortable with it. He really wanted to push, and that’s who Giannis is. I was very happy with our medical team today. They decided at the end of the day, let’s wait. And, obviously as a coach I can’t get involved but so much, but I told Giannis that, this morning, it should be a no tonight. Then the medical team told him as well. What makes Giannis great is it (is) yes from him. We just thought it was the right thing to do.”