Giannis Antetokounmpo has 'no structural damage' to knee

Giannis Antetokounmpo appears to have avoided a serious knee injury, but his availability for the Eastern Conference finals is in question. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo has 'no structural damage' to injured knee, but return unknown

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jun 30, 2021 4:55 PM ET

The Milwaukee Bucks may have avoided a disaster as it pertains to the health of two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Reports previously surfaced that at least some within the Bucks were concerned Antetokounmpo suffered a "severe" ACL injury in the third quarter of Tuesday's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals that the Atlanta Hawks won to even the series 2-2. However, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe report the 26-year-old has no structural damage to his left knee. It's unknown when Antetokounmpo can be cleared to return:

There is no structural damage to Giannis Antetokounmpo's left knee after his awkward landing last night in Atlanta; ligaments are sound, sources tell @ZachLowe_NBA and me. Timetable to return is unclear.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2021

Game 5 between the Bucks and Hawks is Thursday night in Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo went down after he landed awkwardly while contesting an alley-oop attempt with over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter:

Giannis appears to have injured his leg.

Prayers up pic.twitter.com/cHZXCIsBEd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 30, 2021

He missed the rest of Tuesday's contest, and Dr. Jesse Morse of The Fantasy Doctors tweeted he believes Antetokounmpo could stay sidelined through and even beyond the completion of the series:

Great news! I don’t expect him to return soon. Likely a sprain of ACL, PCL & bad bone bruise. Possibly in a couple weeks but those ligaments need time to heal, swelling to calm down and rehab to ‘tighten’ up knee. #Giannis #NBA @TheFantasyDRS Discussed: https://t.co/ttHHqhdHl7 https://t.co/KnScWfKKYQ
— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) June 30, 2021

Meanwhile, Hawks star guard Trae Young was out Tuesday due to the bone bruise in his right foot he suffered in Sunday's matchup. Young's status for Thursday's Game 5 is up in the air.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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