Milwaukee fans held their breath on Wednesday after Giannis Antetokounmpo went down just moments into the Bucks’ matchup with the Detroit Pistons. The two-time MVP collapsed on a routine-looking play with no defender near him, immediately reaching for his leg before teammates helped him to his feet.
He moved slowly toward the tunnel with members of the Bucks’ medical staff assisting him, and it didn’t take long for the team to rule him out for the night with a right calf strain. Because of how sudden the fall looked, reactions online shifted straight to worst-case scenarios — but injury analyst Dr. Brian Sutterer didn’t see the typical warning signs.
“This was odd..didn’t see anything significant,” Sutterer posted on X.
He later broke down the mechanics of the play, saying, “We’ve seen the classic reaction with Achilles ruptures, with calf strains where people look behind them. … The first instinct is to look behind because it feels like somebody hit you in the back of the leg. I’ve never seen anybody look directly straight down, at least from what we’ve seen in replays. … This was an odd reaction to have for a potential Achilles injury.”
To help explain the difference, Sutterer pointed to Indianapolis Colts DB Sauce Gardner, who suffered a calf injury on Sunday and immediately looked behind him as if someone had clipped him. He also noted that Giannis didn’t load up or push off aggressively — the type of movement that preceded injuries to players like Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard.
Bucks breathe a sigh of relief after ruling out Achilles injury for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis remained seated on the floor for a bit before teammates and training staff helped him up, and he made the quiet walk back to the locker room to be evaluated further. After the game, Doc Rivers told reporters that Giannis already underwent an MRI and that the team had “ruled out an Achilles injury.” Full results were expected later in the night.
Even without their franchise cornerstone, Milwaukee managed to pull out one of its grittiest wins of the season, storming back late to beat the Pistons 113–109.
But while the comeback eased the tension for the night, the bigger concern now shifts to how the Bucks will manage the stretch ahead if Giannis has to miss time.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through sabelreyes22@gmail.com. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
