Bucks coach Doc Rivers says he anticipates Giannis Antetokounmpo missing about 4 weeks

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers says he anticipates Giannis Antetokounmpo missing about a month as the two-time MVP recovers from a strained right calf.

Initial reports indicated Antetokounmpo would be out two to four weeks. Rivers suggested Friday that it would likely be on the higher end of that timeline.

“Let’s hope he’s back sooner, but I’m going to guess it’s more in the four-week range,” Rivers said before the Bucks’ 116-101 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Rivers emphasized the importance of caution with calf issues to avoid the risk of a player getting hurt more severely.

“And so that may take longer than we want,” Rivers said. “That even may make Giannis frustrated over it. But we’ve just got to try to get that right.”

Rivers said Antetokounmpo won’t travel with the Bucks for their Saturday night game at Detroit but will accompany the team for most of its away contests while he’s out.

“Our thing is, especially because this just happened, with the blood flow, the flights and all that stuff, keep him home,” Rivers said.

The Bucks had another setback Friday when guard AJ Green, who is shooting nearly 50% from 3-point range, bruised his left shoulder in the second quarter. Rivers said Green would be undergoing an MRI on Saturday in Detroit.

Antetokounmpo injured his calf in the opening minutes of a 113-109 home victory over Detroit on Wednesday.

He had just assisted on AJ Green’s layup less than three minutes into the game when he headed back up the court and slipped in the painted area. Antetokounmpo went down, clutched his right leg and eventually was helped up before walking to the locker room.

Rivers said after that game that he believed Antetokounmpo’s injury may have stemmed from contact he made with a Detroit player while driving along the baseline just before passing to Green.

Antetokounmpo entered Friday ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring (28.9), ninth in rebounding (10.1) and 19th in assists (6.1).

The Bucks are 1-6 in games Antetokounmpo has missed this season. They did rally from an 18-point deficit Wednesday against the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons with Antetokounmpo only playing the first three minutes.

Friday's game exemplified the Bucks' issues in trying to win without Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee committed 10 first-half turnovers that led to 17 Philadelphia points as the Bucks fell behind by as many as 26 points in the second quarter.

“You can see early on our guards were trying to force the action, and that’s easy to guard," Rivers said after the game. "It really is. That’s a lesson.”

Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. said he didn’t feel as though he was pressing too much early – he attempted only four shots in the first half – but he acknowledged the responsibility everyone has to help pick up the slack while Antetokounmpo is out.

“Me and Ryan (Rollins), we have some shoes to fill while he’s gone,” Porter said. “We all have some shoes to fill.”

Antetokounmpo's injury looked similar to a calf strain that ended Antetokounmpo’s 2023-24 season prematurely. Antetokounmpo was heading up the court during an April 9 victory over the Boston Celtics that season when he grabbed his left calf and took a seat on the floor before being helped off the court.

He went on to miss the Bucks’ final three regular-season games as well as their entire six-game loss to the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the playoffs that season.

This latest calf injury comes after Antetokounmpo missed four games last month with a left adductor strain. The Bucks lost all four of those games.

Rivers noted that Porter also didn’t play in any of those games while recovering from a knee injury. Porter returned Nov. 29 and is averaging 19.8 points and 5.8 assists this season.

“Now we have ‘Scoot’ (Porter) and Ryan together,” Rivers said. “It’s a different team than it was even three weeks ago or four weeks ago.”

This calf injury occurred the same day ESPN reported that Antetokounmpo and his agent, Alex Saratsis, had started speaking with the Bucks about the nine-time all-NBA forward’s future and whether he’s best suited to stay in Milwaukee or play elsewhere. Rivers disputed the report and said that “Giannis has never asked to be traded – ever. I can’t make that more clear."

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Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts after suffering an injury during the first half an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kylie Bridenhagen)

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo prepares to shoot a free throw during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kylie Bridenhagen)

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts after suffering an injury during the first half an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kylie Bridenhagen)

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts after suffering an injury during the first half an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kylie Bridenhagen)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Since starting a war with Iran caused oil and gasoline prices to spike, President Donald Trump has pivoted from a focus on keeping energy prices low to painting high oil prices as a positive.

The about-face comes as Trump's team has struggled to offer a clear plan for opening up the critical Strait of Hormuz so that tankers full of oil and natural gas are no longer stranded.

“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” Trump said Thursday on his social media site.

It was only last month, in his State of the Union address, that Trump had bragged about gas prices at $2.30 a gallon, a figure that has since soared more than 50% to a national average of $3.60 a gallon, according to AAA.

The flip-flop shows Trump's political interests at home are suddenly at odds with his desire to flex America’s muscles on the global stage. It comes at a precarious time for Trump's party, ahead of November midterm elections. Trump has said that high gas prices helped him defeat his predecessor, Joe Biden. But he told reporters on Saturday that he had no worries about the rising costs that could influence voters this year, and create pressure for him to end the conflict prematurely.

The investment bank Goldman Sachs on Thursday said that based on its forecasts and historic experience, higher oil prices would cause inflation to be higher, growth to be slower and the unemployment rate to increase by the end of the year.

Benchmark oil prices have swung violently with Trump's shifting statements and as most tankers avoid traversing the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, the global crude oil benchmark price jumped to $100 a barrel.

“The swings in Brent crude oil prices over the past several days are eye-catching and odds are volatility will remain because of the absence of a timeline for when the conflict will deescalate and when the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed, will see traffic begin to recover,” analysts at the consultancy Oxford Economics concluded on Wednesday.

The president has given a series of contradictory messages about his plans to address this issue. He said in a Monday news conference that the Strait of Hormuz “is going to remain safe” well after it was identified as a danger zone, claiming that the presence of the U.S. Navy and insurance for tankers would keep things secure.

By Tuesday, he said on Truth Social that Iran would face “Military consequences” that would be “at a level never seen before” if it placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz, later stressing that the U.S. military was blowing up Iran’s mine-laying ships.

On Wednesday, Trump's Energy Secretary Chris Wright briefly posted that the U.S. Navy had escorted a tanker through the strait — later deleting the false claim.

After initially downplaying the need to tap strategic reserves, Trump by Wednesday said the U.S. would join with other countries and release oil to lower prices, with the administration later saying it would draw down 172 million barrels. The coordinated release among countries is unlikely to bring down oil prices, so much as stabilize the market.

“Such a move will slow rather than stop rising oil prices and offer a temporary salve to the searing burn of rising gasoline prices,” said Joe Brusuelas, chief U.S. economist at the consultancy RSM.

The White House also said it may waive Jones Act requirements to use U.S.-flagged ships to move goods between U.S. ports, a temporary move that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said could “ensure vital energy products and agricultural necessities are flowing freely to U.S. ports.”

Wright, the energy secretary, took to television on Thursday to acknowledge the conflict was causing “a significant disruption” in short-term gas prices, but sought to emphasize the long-term benefits of an Iran that no longer poses a threat to the U.S. and Middle Eastern nations.

Trump on Wednesday had said “the straits are in great shape” and said he thought oil companies should use them. But on Thursday, Wright could not provide a timeline on when the U.S. Navy might escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the bottleneck causing the price spike.

“It’ll happen relatively soon, but it can’t happen now,” Wright told CNBC. “We’re simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities."

Associated Press writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump is seen in his limousine, known as "The Beast," for the motorcade to the White House after his arrival on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Energy Secretary Chris Wright walks to the White House following an interview with CNN, Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)