Is Giannis Antetokounmpo Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Bucks-Thunder)

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo remains out of the lineup of Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he's not going to return until some time after the All-Star break due to a calf strain.

Earlier this week, Bucks general manage Jon Horst said that Antetokounmpo is still a few weeks away, setting his return to be closer to March.

"He's doing great," Horst said. "Working his butt off as you can imagine. Very very diligent in his rehab. Focused on really only one thing and that's returning to play. Driving him crazy not having the opportunity to play right now. We will obviously make sure he doesn't come back too soon and protect him, and work with him on that.

"But he's doing really well and expect him to be back kind of on the initial timeline we had which is still 2 or 3 weeks away at least."

This season, injuries have limited Antetokounmpo to just 30 games, but he's played at an MVP level when he's been on the floor. The Bucks star is averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 64.5 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from 3.

With Antetokounmpo sidelined for Thursday's game, the Bucks are 12.5-point road underdogs in the odds at DraftKings on the second night of a back-to-back against the Western Conference-leading Thunder. Milwaukee is just 7-15 in the 222 games that Giannis has missed in the 2025-26 campaign.

After a lot of trade rumors surrounding the Bucks star this season, he didn't end up getting dealt at the trade deadline. Now, it appears the Bucks are focused on reaching the play-in tournament and the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, though they are two games back of the Atlanta Hawks (the current No. 10 seed) in the standings.

At 22-30, Milwaukee is facing an uphill battle to make the playoffs, especially if Giannis is out until March. Milwaukee will return from the All-Star break on Friday, Feb. 20 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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