Milwaukee Bucks face tough road without Giannis Antetokounmpo

If the losses piled up, the questions will increase

Dec 11, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) watches the game against the Boston Celtics from the bench in the second quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks are on the outside looking into Eastern Conference’s playoff picture the week before Christmas, and their largest present will remain on the shelf for the next few weeks at least.

As part of his media availability on Thursday, Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo dodged most questions about the persistent trade rumors following him this season but did share one piece of sobering news: the 2-4 week timeline initially given for return to action from his calf strain was ambitious.

Sorry, if this was unclear.

The four-to-six weeks timeline started when the injury occurred. Two weeks have already passed since Dec. 3. https://t.co/z5mD4FN9WP

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) December 18, 2025

Giannis mentioned during the availability that he’s determined to be more cautious with his injury recovery than he has in years past, both due to now being on the older side of 30 and the scary recent history of soft tissue injuries in the NBA. That’s a completely understandable approach, but leaves the Bucks in a difficult situation nonetheless.

The Bucks have an 11-17 record overall and are just 3-9 away from the friendly confines of Fiserv Forum this season. Six weeks from December 3, when Giannis strained his calf, is January 14. The Bucks play 12 additional games between now and then, with just three of them in Milwaukee. Two long road trips — one mostly in the Midwest, the other all the way to the West Coast — present massive challenges that the Bucks haven’t met so far this season.

It's been a long road drought

The Bucks have not won a road game since November 10, when they overpowered the Dallas Mavericks, and have yet to win on the road without Giannis this season. All three of Milwaukee’s early road wins were close games: the Bucks beat the Raptors by 6 points and just barely escaped Indiana and Dallas with a pair of two-point victories. Giannis was sensational in each of those wins, scoring 30+ points and shooting 60% or better from the field in all three games.

There is one piece of good news about this road-heavy stretch for the Bucks at least: the teams Milwaukee will face haven’t been world-beaters themselves. After starting off in Minnesota on Sunday, the Bucks will play eight consecutive teams with losing records this season before taking on the Los Angeles Lakers on January 9.

There will be opportunities for Milwaukee to right the ship even without their superstar forward on the floor, but a continuation of the Bucks’ futility on the road could sink their season. Milwaukee stands two games in the loss column behind the 10th place Chicago Bulls. The same two games separate them from the Brooklyn Nets way down in 13th.

Unless the rumored “big game hunting” that Bucks general manager Jon Horst is exploring comes to fruition very soon, Milwaukee may not be done sliding in the standings.