Report: Giannis Antetokounmpo Undergoing Precautionary MRI

This is no time to panic.

Of course, things could turn bad quickly, just as quickly as a stumble can turn into a potential injury. For any fans of the Milwaukee Bucks interested in further freaking out about the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo, here’s the play that put the presumptive MVP in this predicament.

The commentary itself on the tweet is unfortunate at best; as KL Chouinard notes, Avery Bradley attempted to draw a charge on Giannis, because it is a more likely path to success when defending him based on the way the game is officiated. It’s a dangerous play that only exists because the system incentivizes it, and if the system doesn’t change it puts players’ health at risk.

Anyways, debates over the merits of the charge or why Giannis will never get adequate calls are secondary at this point. The Bucks play the Phoenix Suns tomorrow, and at this point it’s difficult to imagine Giannis suiting up. Since the Bucks are away from home, it’s tough to predict what the current course of action will entail, but from what we know of Mike Budenholzer’s approach to managing injuries, “aggressive caution” will be the strategy with the Bucks’ centerpiece. If Kyle Korver sat for three weeks with back soreness, who knows how long Giannis might sit with a tweaked knee, when there’s 19 games left in the season.

As always, we’ll update this story as updates are available. For now, here’s hoping for a positive outcome. For everyone’s sake (but especially Giannis’).