

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss the start of training camp managing COVID-19, according to Bucks general manager Jon Horst.
Antetokounmpo is still in Greece, Horst said, with COVID-19 keeping him from traveling to Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: “I’m just waiting for a negative test, so I can leave my house and get on a plane and travel. I don’t want to put anybody at risk.” https://t.co/Q6l7tJvIql
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) September 29, 2025
Antetokounmpo, 30, finished third in NBA MVP voting last season after averaging 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game while shooting 60.1 percent from the field. For a seventh consecutive season, he was voted First Team All-NBA and earned his ninth All-NBA nod.
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“I’m obviously bummed out that I’m not able to be there with the team and just like, get this ball rolling,” Antetokounmpo said. “As a leader, I don’t feel good. I don’t feel good about this. But at the end of the day, this is life. Things like this, you don’t know when it’s going to happen, you don’t know how it’s going to happen, or how you’re going to feel. So, right now, again, I’m really bummed that I’m not able to be there from day one. I want my teammates to feel my presence and feel my seriousness and how much I want to compete and for us to have a great year, but at the end of the day, they will understand, and if I’m not there today to see them, I’ll be there in a few days, and we can get the ball rolling.”
With his running mate Damian Lillard no longer on the roster, the Bucks have decided to lean even further into the idea of surrounding Antetokounmpo with shooters and letting him operate in a “point forward” role this season. Antetokounmpo is a singular talent, so his absence to open training camp will limit the Bucks’ ability to install the foundation of what they’re trying to do on both ends of the floor.
While this will slow the Bucks’ installation process, Antetokounmpo could be in a position to get back into shape quickly after he competed at Eurobasket, leading Greece to its first medal at the competition since 2006.
“He had an incredible offseason with the (Greek) national team,” Horst said. “He’s in great shape. When he joins us for camp, he’s going to really hit the ground dribbling and running, and he’s in great shape.”
(Photo: John Fisher / Getty Images)
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