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Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 Giannis Antetokounmpo tries to get past Memphis Grizzlies\u2019 Luke Kennard during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo\/Morry Gash)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will not play in next weekend\u2019s All-Star Game because of a strained left calf, meaning NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will have to pick a replacement.<\/p>\n
Bucks coach Doc Rivers confirmed Antetokounmpo\u2019s status Sunday, with the team ruling him out of a game against Philadelphia and indicating that he\u2019ll likely also be out for games Monday at home against Golden State and Wednesday at Minnesota.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just been monitoring it, and it just hasn\u2019t improved enough for us to play him,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cIf this was a playoff game, would he play? Probably yes. But this is not. And we want to make sure he\u2019s playing in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo missed Milwaukee\u2019s one-round appearance in last season\u2019s playoffs with a left calf strain. The Bucks lost to Indiana in six games.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo last played Feb. 2 in the Bucks\u2019 123-119 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He was listed as unavailable due to right patella tendinopathy for the Bucks\u2019 125-96 loss at Oklahoma City the following night, and he\u2019s been out with the calf issue ever since.<\/p>\n
He missed a 112-102 victory at Charlotte on Wednesday and a 115-110 loss at Atlanta on Friday. He went through warmups in Charlotte, but was scratched just before the game.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo was the leader in fan votes for the All-Star Game, which will be played in San Francisco on Feb. 16 with a new mini-tournament format.<\/p>\n
Antetokounmpo was to play on Team Chuck, the eight-man squad drafted last week by TNT analyst Charles Barkley. Antetokounmpo was the fourth of the 24 players drafted by Barkley, Shaquille O\u2019Neal and Kenny Smith to the All-Star rosters.<\/p>\n
Team Chuck has a roster with a very international feel: Nikola Jokic of Serbia, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Canada, Victor Wembanyama of France, Pascal Siakam of Cameroon, Alperen Sengun of Turkey, Karl-Anthony Towns (whose mother is Dominican) and Donovan Mitchell (whose mother is from Panama).<\/p>\n
It is possible that Silver may have to make another decision on an All-Star replacement in the coming days as well. Dallas forward Anthony Davis \u2014 newly acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers \u2014 left his Mavericks debut on Saturday after feeling what he described as tightness in his groin and quadriceps area.<\/p>\n
Davis has also been dealing with an abdominal strain, one that kept him out of his final two games with the Lakers before the trade and the first two he could have played with the Mavs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing serious,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old Antetokounmpo ranks second in the NBA in scoring (31.8) and fifth in rebounding (12.2) per game. Rivers is hoping Antetokounmpo can play when the Bucks get to post-All-Star matchups on Feb. 20.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really hoping that when we come out of the break, we have our team,\u201d Rivers said. \u201cThat\u2019s the hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
[AP]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n