He’ll undergo surgery and be out for quite a while
Out of seemingly nowhere this evening, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Bucks forward, pending free agent, Giannis-whisperer, and bench hype man Thanasis Antetokounmpo tore his Achilles tendon.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo has sustained a torn Achilles tendon and will undergo surgery, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/ujTno6wJJ0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 8, 2024
It’s been just under a week after the soon-to-be-32-year-old’s last appearance in on NBA floor, and he appeared not to suffer any visible injuries when he checked in for garbage time during the Bucks’ Game 6 defeat last Thursday. So the timing here is eyebrow-raising, to say the least. He was listed on injury reports with left hamstring soreness toward the end of the series, though obviously that’s a bit further up the leg, and we don’t even know which Achilles Thanasis tore at this point.
We currently have no details on how this happened, whether in a game or practice in the last couple weeks or another situation entirely. What’s certain, though, is that Thanasis is not going to appear on an NBA floor for quite a while. Achilles injuries are infamously debilitating for basketball players and the recovery post-operation usually takes nearly an entire calendar year, sometimes longer. Recent high-profile tears like Kevin Durant’s and Klay Thompson’s cost them entire seasons. Optimistically, the earliest Thanasis could play would be the very tail end of next regular season, but that would be on the short side of typical recovery.
What’s just as interesting is how this affects Milwaukee’s roster situation next year. Of course, Thanasis has signed minimum-salary deals every year since 2019 to play with his Brother, never averaging more than 9.9 MPG or appearing in more than 57 regular-season contests. The past two seasons he’s seen his on-court opportunities drop even further to just 37 and 34 games played. As most fans know, he’s not on the team for his basketball acumen, but his very close bond with his younger brother, one of the best players on earth. If employing him and taking up another roster spot is the cost of keeping Giannis, so be it, conventional wisdom says.
However, the calculus changes here. Thanasis is a free agent this offseason and much like last year, was certainly in line for another one-year minimum deal to stay in town. But now that he’s injured and will literally not be able to play competitive NBA basketball for a good year or more, maybe that offer now comes off the table. Maybe he just takes the year off. Or perhaps he remains around the team while rehabbing, even if not in any official capacity. It’s another open question—albeit much more minor—for a team that has many this offseason.
Ironically, there was a lot of hand-wringing about Giannis’ Achilles this year: he dealt with Achilles tendinitis during the regular season before a calf strain sustained in early April essentially ended his season, and there was initial fear he had injured his Achilles in that Boston game. So Thanasis ended up being the only Antetokounmbro to log postseason minutes this year (just five in Games 4 and 6 when Indiana was running away with it) and now mysteriously has a torn Achilles a week later. Also, Thanasis seemed likely to play for Greece this summer in Olympic qualifying, but now that’s out the window and maybe it means something for Giannis’ decision on whether or not to participate for their homeland.
We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.