MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks general manager Jon Horst says Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t need any type of offseason procedure for the left knee the two-time MVP hyperextended during the team’s NBA title run.
“He’s fine,” Horst said Friday. “I can’t explain it, but he’s fine.”
Antetokounmpo hurt his knee in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals when he landed awkwardly after attempting to block a dunk attempt by Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela. Antetokounmpo later said he worried that he’d be out for a year.
He sat out the last two games of the East finals — the Bucks won both contests to take the series 4-2 — but returned for the next series and ended up earning NBA Finals MVP honors. Antetokounmpo averaged an astounding 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists to help the Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns 4-2 and earn their first championship in 50 years.
“I think when you start thinking about your knee or thinking about your toe or pinkie or whatever the case might be, you’re just making excuses in your mind,” Antetokounmpo said after Game 2 of the NBA Finals. “You’re out there, just play the game. Do whatever you can. Leave it out there on the floor, and no matter what the outcome is, you just leave it there.”
Horst didn’t speculate on a possible return date for guard Donte DiVincenzo, who tore a ligament in his left ankle in Game 3 of a first-round playoff series with the Miami Heat and missed the rest of the postseason.
“It’s too early to know,” Horst said. “He’s ahead of where he should be at this time and doing an incredible job right now, but it’s still hard to tell what the timeline would be.”
Horst was speaking the day after selecting 22-year-old forwards Sandro Mamukelashvili of Seton Hall and Georgios Kalaitzakis of Greece in the second round of the draft. The Bucks traded the 31st overall pick to land four second-round selections, including this year’s 54th pick and 60th pick. Mamukelashvili went 54th, and Kalaitzakis went 60th.