Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is doubtful for Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Finals vs. Phoenix on Tuesday due to a knee injury, per Milwaukee’s injury report.
Antetokounmpo has been out of Milwaukee’s lineup since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. The two-time MVP exited Game 4 after suffering an apparent ankle injury, but the Bucks held on to advance to the Finals with a 4–2 series victory.
No target date has been set for Antetokounmpo’s return, though he could play in the Finals. Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer said Monday Antetokounmpo’s injury is a “day-to-day thing.”
“I mean, [Giannis] and the sports performance team, they have been together a long time. It’s special to watch their relationship,” Budenholzer told the media in Phoenix. It’s special to watch the communication, the trust that he has. You have to listen to the player and then you have to listen to the sports performance group, and at some point [general manager] Jon Horst and myself are part of the conversations, but it’s just a day-to-day thing.”
“We’ll update it when appropriate. The conversations between he and myself and he and the sports performance group, it’s kind of private and we’ll see where he is each day.”
Tuesday will mark the Bucks’ first Finals game as a franchise since 1974. The Suns last reached the Finals in 1993, but they have never previously hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
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