Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss Wednesday's game at the Oklahoma City Thunder because of left knee soreness.

The two-time NBA MVP missed Milwaukee's 108-94 win over the Thunder last Saturday for the same reason. He was originally considered questionable, so the team erred on the side of caution.

Antetokounmpo is poised to be an MVP contender once again. The Bucks are 9-0 despite Khris Middleton missing time from his offseason wrist surgery, and the Greek Freak is a big reason why.

Through nine appearances, he's averaging 31.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

Antetokounmpo is crucial to Milwaukee's hopes of winning a second title in three seasons. The roster is collectively strong enough to where it can manage without him for a game or two in the regular season, though.

In the aforementioned Thunder game, Bobby Portis took Antetokounmpo's place in the lineup and finished with 12 points and 21 rebounds.

As long as Giannis' knee trouble doesn't portend a more serious problem, the Bucks shouldn't be panicking.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss Saturday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of left knee soreness.

Any injury to the 27-year-old, big or small, is going to be a concern in Milwaukee, and for good reason. He is a two-time MVP, six-time All-Star, the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year and a four-time first-team All-NBA selection.

Oh, and he led the Bucks to a title in the 2020-21 season.

Antetokounmpo has also continued to improve, averaging an impressive 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals in the 2021-22 season. It was a testament to the strong seasons of Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid that he finished a distant third in the MVP voting to that pair.

While perimeter shooting remains his one weakness—he came into this season shooting 28.8 percent from beyond the arc—Antetokounmpo showed improvement at the free-throw line last year, bumping his average back up to 72.2 percent after dipping below 70 percent the previous two seasons.

The 2013 first-round pick did give the Bucks a scare in early September, leaving a EuroBasket game for Greece with an ankle problem. While he was seen limping after that game, national head coach Dimitris Itoudis played down the injury.

"It's all good," he told reporters at the time.

Antetokounmpo is one of the truly unique players in the NBA, and his impact for the Bucks is immense, so replacing him is impossible. On Saturday, look for Bobby Portis to take his place in the starting lineup.

As the 2022-23 NBA season has gotten started, Jae Crowder remains out of action. The 32-year-old forward is technically still on the Phoenix Suns' roster, but he's been away from the team while it looks to find a trade partner to move him.

In the meantime, there have been various rumored suitors. And some of them are intriguing fits for Crowder.

According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat have been among the suitors for Crowder. While the Bucks and Hawks have had talks with the Suns, the Heat could also be in the mix, per Charania.

Of those teams, the Bucks may be the best potential fit for Crowder. Charania reported that Milwaukee has "recently been engaged" in discussions with Phoenix, too, so perhaps it's among the most serious of the suitors.

Crowder has played for seven teams over his first 10 NBA seasons, but he's never suited up for the Bucks. However, Milwaukee has seen what he's capable of, as it faced off with Phoenix in the 2021 NBA Finals, a series that the Bucks won in six games.

Milwaukee is hoping to win another championship this season. It should be among the top contenders in the Eastern Conference, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the team make another deep run through the playoffs.

That's why Crowder is the type of player the Bucks should be looking to add. He's an experienced veteran with a plethora of postseason experience. He even played in the NBA Finals in back-to-back years, as he also reached that point with the Heat in 2020.

After beating the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, Milwaukee is off to a 3-0 start. However, it continues to be without Khris Middleton, who has been out due to a left wrist injury. The Bucks have also been without Joe Ingles (left ACL) and Pat Connaughton (right calf).

Even though Milwaukee may not acquire Crowder in time to help fill these voids (as some of these players may not be too far from returning), he'd be another valuable player to add to this mix. Then, the Bucks also wouldn't feel the need to rush any of their injured players back into action too soon.

One of the rumored reasons for Crowder's desire to leave Phoenix had been that he wasn't happy about potentially coming off the bench rather than starting. However, he stated that's not the case.

NBA insider Chris Haynes shared during Tuesday's TNT broadcast of the Golden State-Phoenix game that Crowder said it's "definitely not true of the narrative being pushed about me starting or not."

If Crowder is open to a bench role, then he may even be a better fit in Milwaukee. The Bucks have such a talented roster that they may want to use the former Marquette standout not in their starting lineup, and that could bode well for both sides.

So it would be wise for Milwaukee to intensify its pursuit of Crowder, especially if Phoenix's asking price is reasonable. He can still be a solid contributor at this point in his career, and his leadership and experience would be a valuable addition to the Bucks' core in their chase for another NBA title.

The Phoenix Suns have reportedly "been engaged in talks" with the Milwaukee Bucks on a potential Jae Crowder trade, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat remain in pursuit of the veteran forward, but Milwaukee has also "registered interest."

Crowder has yet to appear with the Suns this season and has been away from the team since training camp as part of a mutual decision to part ways.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported Heat officials believe Miami is Crowder's "preferred destination" after ending the 2019-20 season with the team. The wing started all 21 playoff games as the squad made a surprising run to the NBA Final.

The experience could make Crowder a quality fit on any contender, however, totaling 107 playoff games during his career.

The 32-year-old has also made deep playoff runs with the Boston Celtics and Suns, but has never won a title.

Crowder has proved he can help in a lot of ways on the court, averaging 9.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game last season. He started all 67 games he played for the Suns as they posted the best record in the NBA.

The Suns were 5.4 points better per 100 possessions with Crowder on the court last season, tying Chris Paul for second among regular rotation players, per Basketball Reference.

Milwaukee is off to a strong start with wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets, but the squad could use added depth on the wing, especially with Khris Middleton dealing with a wrist injury. Crowder's postseason experience could then help the Bucks get over the top as they try to win their second title in three years.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is an adherent of the Mamba Mentality.

While acknowledging their limited interpersonal connection, Antetokounmpo told The Athletic's Eric Nehm he sees similarities between his mindset and that of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant:

"I will never say this, I will never disrespect the name of the great Kobe. I don’t like mentioning him. I feel like he should be mentioned, should never be forgotten. But I don’t like mentioning his name to bring attention to the conversation that we are about to have. I wasn’t close to him. I wasn’t this with him or that with him. But I would say this, in some areas of his mindset, I think we’re very similar."

Like Michael Jordan before him, Bryant helped to set a template for how NBA stars can approach their craft. His intensity and single-minded focus didn't make him the greatest teammate at times, but it undoubtedly helped him win five championships.

In the case of Antetokounmpo, the dedication to his game is evident in his NBA rise.

Nobody could have foreseen a 19-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo, who averaged 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a rookie, becoming a two-time MVP and one of the league's 75 greatest players. Over time, the Greek Freak filled out and honed the rougher edges of his game to accentuate his physical gifts.

Now, the 27-year-old is in a position to lead by example, just as Bryant did as a player.

MarJon Beauchamp, the No. 24 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, explained how he watches Antetokounmpo's approach and is "trying to be the same because I’m trying to be a great player."

"He doesn’t talk to anyone," Beauchamp said, per Nehm. "He just stays focused. He has the same habits, the same routine. He’s just locked in, I can tell by his face."

Milwaukee Bucks star Khris Middleton will reportedly miss the first few weeks of the regular season as he recovers from his wrist injury, according to Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Adrian Wojnarowski reported in July that Middleton had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist. He was expected to be fully recovered around the start of the regular season.

Despite some hope that Middleton would be on the court for the Bucks' first game, he told reporters Sept. 26 that opening night was off the table. He did note he hopes to return sometime near the beginning of the season, but the team will now have to wait on his season debut.

Injuries were also a problem for Middleton down the stretch last season. The three-time All-Star missed Milwaukee's final 10 playoff games with an MCL injury.

Middleton had been durable in recent seasons. Since missing 53 games because of a hamstring injury in 2016-17, the 31-year-old has sat out a total of 36 regular-season games from 2018-22.

The Bucks still have a talented roster, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, that will allow them to remain near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. A healthy Middleton could be the difference between them losing in the playoffs and winning a title.

Given how important Middleton has been to Milwaukee, the team will likely exercise caution to make sure he's at full strength before bringing him back.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has heard Gilbert Arenas' criticisms, but he's not going to let the words of a "bitter" ex-NBA player bother him.

The Milwaukee Bucks star addressed Arenas' comments during an appearance on Sirius XM NBA Radio's The Starting Lineup on Friday and sent a shot back at the former Washington Wizard.

"Does it bother me? I'm not going to lie, it makes me want to work harder," Antetokounmpo said. "Do I go back home and think about it and I can't sleep? Not necessarily. But at the end of the day, hey, I don't know, when I am 45 years old, 50 years old, I might be, you know, a little bit bitter, too. I might be seeing, you know, this 20-year-old making, signing a three-year, $900 million. ... Maybe, I don't know, but I don't think so.

"Because I'm grateful for everything that God has blessed me with, for my kids, for my brothers, for my family, for my father, you know, for my son and the people I work with. I'm grateful for it. And I don't think I'm going to be like that."

While it was couched in a longer answer, there was one key word there: bitter. Antetokounmpo likely views Arenas as someone with an ax to grind rather than someone who is giving valid criticism.

Arenas recently bashed Giannis during multiple media appearances, saying the two-time MVP "doesn't understand basketball."

"The media says he's the best player in the league. Not even close. Just stop it!" Arenas recently said on the No Chill podcast. "I can look at his game and say he doesn't understand basketball yet. He plays the sport, he won a championship, cool. But he doesn't really understand how to be better, how to train his body."

The lack of objective validity in Arenas' claims makes him easy to dismiss. Antetokounmpo has already accomplished more at age 27 than Arenas did in his entire NBA career; it isn't even particularly close. Giannis has one championship to Arenas' zero; one Finals MVP to Arenas' zero; two MVPs to Arenas' zero; one Defensive Player of the Year to Arenas' zero...OK, you get the point.

Couple that with the fact that Antetokounmpo accomplished all of those feats after having never played at a higher level than Greece's second division before reaching the NBA, and it's easy to see why Giannis sleeps well at night.

The Milwaukee Bucks are reportedly among the teams expected to pursue a trade for Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder.

"The Bucks will look though I bet," ESPN's Zach Lowe said on The Lowe Post podcast. "The Bucks were sneakily kind of sniffing around Jerami Grant in Detroit before Portland swooped in. I think they like the idea of the switchable, switchable, switchable guys."

Crowder and the Suns mutually agreed the veteran forward would not participate in training camp while the team seeks trade options. The 32-year-old has been with the Suns the last two seasons and is heading into the final year of his contract.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix reported Crowder's trade request stemmed from a desire for a contract extension, which the Suns did not plan to offer. Phoenix also reportedly told Crowder he would not be part of the starting five or closing unit.

Crowder had started 109 of his 127 games in Phoenix. Cameron Johnson seems like a strong bet to step into the starting lineup in Crowder's place as the Suns look to increase their spacing. Dario Saric will also get extended time at the 4 after missing the entire 2021-22 season.

The Bucks don't offer much hope for Crowder as a starter, given the best player in basketball (Giannis Antetokounmpo) plays his position. It's possible that Milwaukee would open the season playing big with Crowder at the 3, but that will only be a temporary solution until Khris Middleton returns from his wrist injury.

As it stands, Crowder seems to be heading toward a different stage in his career and doesn't appear accepting of his new standing. If Crowder wants to play for a contender, the options for him getting a starter-size workload are few and far between.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is highly motivated to win another title, and he revealed Sunday that he got jealous watching the Golden State Warriors' 2022 NBA championship parade.

When asked about his motivation to win another title, Antetokounmpo responded:

"I kinda got jealous of Golden State and seeing them in the parade," Antetokounmpo said. "... Like, you know that feeling now. You know what is getting stripped away from you."

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks won the 2021 NBA title with a finals victory over the Phoenix Suns in six games. It was the team's second-ever championship and first since 1971.

In 2022, the Bucks were eliminated from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics.

Milwaukee is expected to be one of the top teams in the East again in 2022-23, but it won't be easy for Antetokounmpo to lead the team back to the NBA Finals, especially considering there should be some tough competition in the conference.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is the focus of a new short film produced by WhatsApp.

Naija Odyssey, which was released Wednesday, focuses on the two-time NBA MVP's formative years as a native of Greece born to Nigerian parents. The film intends to "[tell] his origin story of many origins as he reconciles his roots, birthplace and sense of belonging between cross-cultural worlds."

Although Antetokounmpo's story is well known to basketball fans, Naija Odyssey opens the door for others to discover the path he took before achieving superstardom in the NBA.

The 27-year-old has helped to symbolize the NBA's growth abroad, an effort that was spurred by former Commissioner David Stern. Four of the top five vote-getters in last year's MVP balloting were born outside of the United States.