Giannis Antetokounmpo says it's hard to miss out on the NBA's end-of-season awards, as his streak of nine consecutive All-NBA selections will most likely come to an end after his latest calf injury.
For the first time since the 2016–17 season, we will most likely not see Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on any of the All-NBA teams.
After suffering a right calf injury in a 100–102 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Giannis revealed that he expects to miss around a month of action, meaning he won't hit the 65-game margin required for end-of-season NBA awards.
Giannis says it's disappointing to miss out on All-NBA teams after his long streak of making All-NBA, though it's better to miss a couple of weeks than to be out for the entire season.
"Yeah, it's hard. What is it, 10 years in a row?" Giannis said postgame.
"It's hard. But always in my mind, I think of all the good things that have happened in my life. I think where I am at this moment, what my goals are, and what stops me from my goals, which might be this injury. The first thing you have to think about is that it can be way worse," he noted.
"You can be out for 12 months, 18 months. So being out for two, three, four, five, six weeks, whatever the case may be now, and not making the All-NBA, for sure it's going to hurt. It's going to be frustrating, but it doesn't matter. That's not where we are right now mentally as a team, as a player."
"The All-NBA is in June. This is January. I can think about that, but now I think about the times I've made it 10 years in a row. It was an incredible run. If I don't make it this year, it's okay. I'm going to come back next year. I'm going to make it," Giannis concluded.
Earlier in the season, Giannis missed eight games with a calf strain, and by the looks of it, he could be dealing with a similar injury once again.
In total, Giannis has missed 16 games this season due to injuries, while averaging 28.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game.
With this loss, the Bucks fell to an 18–26 record, placing them 11th in the Eastern Conference.
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