Milwaukee Bucks reserve forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo will miss the start of the playoffs after suffering an avulsion fracture to his right patella tendon in his team’s regular-season finale.
Bucks officials said Tuesday that the 28-year-old will be out for at least two weeks and would be evaluated again at that point. Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after a leg injury had knocked him out of a 118-112 loss at Chicago a night earlier.
The Bucks are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and open a first-round series with the Miami Heat on Saturday.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo looks up the score board as celebrates after guard Elijah Bryant scored a basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago, Sunday, May 16, 2021. (AP PhotoNam Y. Huh)
Antetokounmpo, the older brother of Milwaukee Bucks forward and two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, has played 57 games and made three starts this year. He is averaging 2.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 9.7 minutes.
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Milwaukee Bucks players Thanasis Antetokounmpo, left, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, right, give five before an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago, Sunday, May 16, 2021. (AP PhotoNam Y. Huh)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, center, looks to pass as Chicago Bulls defenders Thaddeus Young, left, and Lauri Markkanen, right, guard during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Sunday, May 16, 2021. (AP PhotoNam Y. Huh)
Washington Wizards' Russell Westbrook, right, looks to pass around Milwaukee Bucks' Thanasis Antetokounmpo (43) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Milwaukee. (AP PhotoAaron Gash)