By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After missing the Milwaukee Bucks opener in the 2024 NBA Preseason, Giannis Antetokounmpo is projected to play in the second friendly game.
Sharing the plan with reporters during practice on Tuesday, Doc Rivers confirmed intentions about the Freak featuring versus the Los Angeles Lakers in Fiserv Forum on Thursday.
Antetokounmpo, 29, is coming out of a busy offseason, helping the senior national team of Greece top the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus and move into the 2024 Olympic Games. Besides international action for a large chunk of the summer, a calf injury prematurely ending his 2023-24 NBA campaign also forced adjustments to the Preseason plan.
Building up to the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season, the workload will steadily increase. Beyond the upcoming exhibition opposite the Lakers, the Bucks will host the Chicago Bulls in Fiserv Forum next Monday and visit the Dallas Mavericks in American Airlines Center next Thursday, before the opener of the Regular Season against the Philadelphia 76ers in Wells Fargo Center on October 23.
The next season will be the 12th for Giannis in the NBA. Since being selected by the Bucks with the 15th overall pick of the 2013 draft, he became the leading player of the franchise. Growing in popularity across the league and all over the world, the peak, to date, was reached in 2021 by becoming an NBA champion and getting the Finals MVP nod as well, following back-to-back season MVP awards in 2019 and 2020.
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