What's the latest on Giannis Antetokounmpo? Doc Rivers provides an update

NEW ORLEANS – The Milwaukee Bucks returned to the practice court on Feb. 19 after a week off for the NBA all-star break, reconvening in New Orleans in advance of their game against the Pelicans on Feb. 20.

The game against New Orleans is the start of a “second half” of the season in which the Bucks have 29 games to climb out of the 12^th position in the Eastern Conference and reach postseason play.

“We just gotta keep winning,” head coach Doc Rivers told the Journal Sentinel after the session. “We gotta stack games, we gotta stack wins. That’s the bottom line. And wherever (the record) lies, it lies.”

Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins (13) turns the corner on Indiana Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith (23) during the first half of their game Friday, February 6, 2026 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Bucks won five of their last six heading into the break, including their first winning streak of the season with three consecutive wins from Feb. 3-6. Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma told the Journal Sentinel the team’s defensive intensity had picked up in that winning stretch, but more than that, “we moved the ball.”

“I think that’s just the tale of the season,” Kuzma added. “We haven’t won five of six all year and the biggest reason, I would say, was the ball movement. We had multiple guys in double figures (scoring), we had play after the play type of possessions on offense. So, that’s gotta be the recipe the rest of the year. If we come back and play stagnant and play iso, it’s going to be a toss up.”

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When will Giannis Antetokounmpo return from injury?

On a positive note, Giannis Antetokounmpo participated in the early part of the practice but did not do any “live” five-on-five work afterward.

Rivers called that activity a “good sign” for the two-time league MVP.

Antetokounmpo did a media tour in Los Angeles during all-star weekend where he said his right calf strain felt 100%, but acknowledged he needed to go through live practice sessions with and against teammates before being cleared to return.

The game against the Pelicans is the four-week mark from when Antetokounmpo suffered his second calf strain on Jan. 23, an injury he self-diagnosed that night and predicted a four-to-six-week recovery period.

Rivers maintained there is no firm timeline for Antetokounmpo to return but acknowledged, “he’s close.”

What is the Bucks record without Giannis?

Milwaukee is just 8-15 without Antetokounmpo, but the team began to find some success without him for the first time just before the break.

“We just have found ourselves,” Rivers said. “We’re playing the right way. offensively the ball’s really moving now. That’s been the biggest change. I think defensively we’ve kind of shored up what we want to do. We’re rebounding better on both ends of the floor. I think it’s all those combined. Again, we have a young group that hasn’t played a lot (together) with all these injuries. Of all the times you didn’t want the break to come it was this time. But you kind of felt like all these injuries, young players, trades, the guys are staring to get it, find it, and you can feel it.”

The Bucks will have to get by at least one more game without center Myles Turner, though, as he was held out of the practice session entirely and ruled out for the game against the Pelicans with a right calf strain. Turner went through his regular pregame routine in Oklahoma City on Oct. 12 but was then shelved with what was called soreness.

“There’s no reason to be stupid, is the way we look at it,” Rivers said of holding Turner out.

Guard Ryan Rollins practiced after missing the last two games before the break with plantar fasciitis in his right foot and said having a week and a half off was beneficial. Rollins had played 51 straight games before sitting out the last two before the break.

“I feel good,” he told the Journal Sentinel. “The thing I’m dealing with in my foot, sometimes it’s just like the more you just bang on it, it keeps getting worse so it was a good almost two weeks for me to sit down and get off my feet. It was great. I came back today and was feeling great.”

What is Giannis’ injury?

Antetokounmpo said he strained the soleus muscle in his right calf on Jan. 23, which he self-diagnosed after injuring that muscle in his left calf in 2024. He first strained his right calf on Dec. 3, which kept him out of action until Dec. 27.