Bucks Injury Report: Damian Lillard Surprisingly Ruled Out vs Kings

Nine-time All-Star Milwaukee Bucks point guard Damian Lillard is a surprise scratch ahead of a clash against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.

Per Eric Nehm of The Athletic, the 6-foot-2 Weber State product has been ruled out with right calf soreness ahead of the clash. He'll join several rotation pieces on the sidelines against a scrappy Sacramento squad.

Here is the Bucks injury report vs. Kings on Saturday:

Out:
Bouyea (G League)
Lillard (Right Calf Soreness)
Portis Jr. (League Suspension)
Sims (Right Thumb UCL Sprain)
Umude (G League)

Probable:
Antetokounmpo (Right Patella Tendinopathy)
Trent Jr. (Left Patella Tendinopathy)
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) March 21, 2025

Sixth man power forward/center Bobby Portis Jr. is still serving a 25-game league suspension and won't be back until April. Reserve center Jericho Sims remains out for at least the next three weeks with a sprained right thumb UCL.

Two-way Bucks guards Stanley Umude and Jamaree Bouyea will both be putting in reps with Milwaukee's NBAGL affiliate in Oshkosh, the Wisconsin Herd.

This news comes as a bit of a surprise, although it makes sense for a Bucks club looking to get healthy in time for the playoffs — especially one facing off against an inferior-but-still scrappy Kings team.

In fairness, Lillard did also sit out the Bucks' last game, a 118-89 home blowout Thursday over a Los Angeles Lakers squad missing six of its top eight players (including All-Stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James, plus fellow starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura).

Got the job done. pic.twitter.com/5bYZXpfntE
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 21, 2025

Ryan Rollins, who was recently elevated from a two-way deal to a standard roster contract, started in his stead, scoring 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting from the floor (2-of-7 from long range) and 2-of-2 shooting rom the foul line, while also chipping in five rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block.

Nine-time All-Star Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokunmpo, who himself has been downgraded to probable to play through his right patella tendinopathy, scored a team-most 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor and 10-of-12 shooting from the charity stripe, grabbed seven rebounds, passed for four dishes, nabbed two steals and blocked one shot.

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Reserve shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. had a superb game off the Bucks' bench, scoring 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field (all triples) and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line. Trent also pulled down three boards, passed for three assists, and nabbed two steals in 27:02 of action.

Lillard, 34, is averaging 24.9 points on .448/.376/.921 shooting spits, 7.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals a night in his 58 healthy games. He has to be healthy for seven of the Bucks' final 12 contests (i.e. following the Kings game) to earn an All-NBA spot. He missed out on the honor during his first season with Milwaukee.

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