There is a lot of finger-pointing going on in Milwaukee right now. The Milwaukee Bucks are saying that Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn't want to play, while Giannis is saying the exact opposite to the media. Someone is wrong, and the Bucks just made their case, with ESPN's Shams Charania reporting that Giannis declined to participate in a three-on-three scrimmage as part of his return in March.
If the Milwaukee Bucks deemed it necessary that he does so to return and he refused, then they aren't exactly in the wrong for holding him out. Giannis has dealt with significant injuries to his calf, adductor, and knee this season. The Bucks don't want him jumping right back into the fold without going through the necessary steps. If they want him doing three on three, it needs to happen.
Giannis has been banged up beyond belief this season
If true, why would Giannis not want to participate in a three on three? Did he think he could jump right into five on five or simply reenter the lineup entirely? As the face of the franchise and a freakishly fast healer in the past, sure, perhaps that would have worked in past years—remember when he returned in the NBA Finals coming off that gruesome knee injury shortly prior? Better times.
This season, Giannis has shown his mortality more than ever before. He's played in just 36 games to this point, and with five contests to go, it looks like that number will hold. Before this, his prior fewest games played in a season was 61, which came during the 2020-21 title campaign. He is no longer the iron man that he once was, with four major injuries costing him time this season.
With that in mind, why would the Milwaukee Bucks not be cautious with their star? Even if he claims he is completely healthy, they have the right to ask him to clear all of the steps before allowing him to hit the hardwood again. If Giannis didn't want to do that, which the Bucks are claiming in their report to the NBA, no one could fault them for keeping him out.
More information is bound to come out in due time
This report is just the first nugget to come from the NBA's investigation into why Giannis has not been playing for the Bucks despite claiming he's healthy. More tidbits will inevitably surface within the next several weeks. Maybe Giannis will have his share of indisputable evidence that will blow up in the face of the Bucks. Maybe not. Right now, things are just getting started.
No matter what the NBA's ultimate verdict is, things are getting ugly between Giannis and the Bucks. They are clearly at each other's throats, and with five games left to go, everyone wants to see if the other one will cave. It would be shocking if Giannis got back on the court for Milwaukee this season, even if it means losing him for good this summer. The relationship is fractured.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.