Jericho Sims

Rivers: Bucks To Take Cautious Approach To Giannis’ Recovery

December 5th, 2025 at 8:50pm CST by Rory Maher

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was diagnosed with a right calf strain on Wednesday, with ESPN’s Shams Charania subsequently reporting that the Greek superstar was expected to be sidelined roughly two-to-four weeks.

Head coach Doc Rivers says Milwaukee will take a cautious approach to Antetokounmpo’s recovery, and thinks the two-time MVP will be out closer to four weeks than two, per Jamal Collier of ESPN.

“I feel like we should learn is with calves — make sure they’re healthy,” Rivers said before Friday’s game against Philadelphia. “So that may take longer than we want. That even may make Giannis frustrated over it, but we just got to try to get that right.”

According to Collier, Rivers said he spoke to Antetokounmpo for a “long time” on Thursday after the MRI results came back, and Antetokounmpo was feeling optimistic about his prognosis.

As Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports writes, if Antetokounmpo is out four weeks, he would be sidelined for the next 12 games, making him ineligible for major postseason awards since he has already missed six. The former Finals MVP has been a first-team All-NBA selection each of the past seven years, Devine notes, and has also finished in the top four in MVP voting every season over that stretch.

Both Devine and Eric Nehm of The Athletic explore how the Bucks might be able to survive the next few weeks without their best player. It’s a tall task, to be sure — Milwaukee has gone just 1-5 so far this season in Antetokounmpo’s absence (2-6 counting the games he had to leave early due to injuries).

Having Kevin Porter Jr. back should help alleviate some pressure off Ryan Rollins, who was asked to take on an enormous workload on both ends of the court during Antetokounmpo’s recent adductor injury, Nehm writes. For his part, Rollins said the team needs to keep the ball moving as much as possible.

“We need to move the ball. With him on the court, without him on the court, we need to move the ball,” Rollins said. “But when he’s off the court, we need to move it even more. Just get everybody touches, keep the ball moving, and when that happens, we have our best chance to win and play our best basketball.”

Devine wonders if big man Jericho Sims could be in line for an increased role with Antetokounmpo out, while Nehm thinks A.J. Green could be capable of more scoring — unfortunately, the sharpshooting wing suffered a left shoulder contusion on Friday and was ruled out for the rest of the game, tweets Collier.

Giannis Antetokounmpo To Miss 1-2 Weeks With Groin Strain

November 18th, 2025 at 4:20pm CST by Rory Maher

November 18: Antetokounmpo’s MRI “went pretty well,” according to Rivers, who said during an appearance on Courtside with Gale Klappa podcast that the Bucks star will “probably” miss two weeks (Twitter audio link via Nehm).

ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets that it’s a “low-grade” strain for Antetokounmpo and is expected to sideline him for a week or two.

November 17: Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo sustained a left groin strain in the second quarter of Monday’s game in Cleveland and will not return for the second half, the team announced (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).

Antetokounmpo appeared to suffer the injury on a drive to the basket, according to Nehm, who tweets that the Greek forward hobbled back down the court on defense, committed a foul, and then checked himself out of the game and walked to the locker room. Harris Stavrou of SPORT24 has a partial video of the incident (Twitter link).

Antetokounmpo will undergo an MRI on Tuesday, according to head coach Doc Rivers (Twitter links courtesy of Nehm).

“We won’t know anything until tomorrow. Didn’t look great, I can tell you that,” Rivers said. “ … He grabbed (his groin), I want to say in the first quarter and I asked him then. He said it was fine. Then I think he grabbed it again and he said it was fine. And then the third time, you know, is when it happened. But I think it happened earlier, in my opinion.”

Backup big man Jericho Sims started the second half with Antetokounmpo unavailable, Nehm adds (via Twitter).

A two-time MVP who has finished no worse than fourth in voting for the award in each of the past seven years, Antetokounmpo was off to arguably the best start of his decorated career in 2025/26 prior to the injury, averaging 32.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.3 blocks through 12 games (33.4 minutes per contest).

The 30-year-old entered Monday’s game on the injury report with a probable tag due to an unrelated issue with his left knee (patellar tendinopathy) before being upgraded to available. Rivers said last week that injury isn’t considered serious.

While it’s unclear how much time Antetokounmpo will miss as a result of the groin injury, it’s probably not a great sign that it was quickly diagnosed as a strain — even relatively mild groin strains can be tricky to recover from.

Sims and Bobby Portis are the most obvious candidates for more minutes with Antetokounmpo out for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time. Myles Turner figures to take on an expanded offensive role as well.

Bucks GM Jon Horst Talks Turner, Rivers, Sims, More

July 16th, 2025 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks made two of the most surprising moves of the NBA offseason within a single hour on July 1 when they agreed to a four-year deal with free agent center Myles Turner and decided to waive-and-stretch Damian Lillard in order to create the cap room necessary to sign Turner.

Speaking to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Bucks general manager Jon Horst explained that he and his front office felt as if the moves represented the best way to maximize the team’s window of contention around two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“I think every decision, every move that you make, has risk and reward, so there’s nothing unique about that in this case,” Horst said. “We looked at the opportunity to acquire a highly productive, elite free agent (Turner), who is in the prime of his career, and who is an incredible fit next to Giannis, as an opportunity for these next two seasons in particular, instead of what would have been Dame on our books at a full salary, as really opportunistic, more than anything.

The Bucks will carry annual cap hits of roughly $22.5MM on their books through 2029/30 for Lillard, but Horst believes the gains in both the short and long term will outweigh the compromised flexibility that dead money creates.

“The carry for the following three years, there’s no question that if you want to call it an impediment or another hurdle, that’s fine,” Horst said. “But we were dealing with a really big hurdle and complication that we had to figure out how to deal with now, and the now matters more than anything. Maximizing Giannis’ prime, our opportunities to win, I feel like that’s our responsibility always. So it was really a now versus future decision.”

“That being said, Myles is an incredible player in the prime of his career for four years. So four of those five years, we have Myles Turner, so it wasn’t like we just did something now and then we have to take four years of risk beyond this year and four years of carry without any production. We have four years, at least, of Myles Turner at elite production while that’s on our books. And there (are) other things that we did, there (are) other moves that we made, other players we’re able to acquire because of this move now that I believe will outweigh the carry of the 20-plus million dollars that we have.”

In his wide-ranging conversation with Nehm, which is worth checking out in full if you’re an Athletic subscriber, Horst also touched on several other topics, including how the addition of Turner affects the team’s playing style, why he believes Doc Rivers is still the right coach for the Bucks, and much more.

Here are some of the highlights from Horst:

On his belief in Rivers:

“I think he’s a championship-level coach. He’s the right coach to get us to where we want to go. We haven’t had the results yet in our two years together that we wanted. But it’s been two of the most adversity-filled seasons that I’ve been part of. And we’ve had two really successful regular seasons. To go through the things that we went through, if people actually look at the facts of what we went through over two years — we still finished with a fifth seed and a third seed. Near 50 wins in both seasons. And then we lost to the team that lost in the conference finals two years ago and the team that lost in Game 7 of the (NBA) Finals this year.”

On why the Bucks re-signed Jericho Sims:

“Jericho was one of the best switch defenders in the playoffs. He’s got a limited, limited sample, but I believe that he can do it. He’s an elite rim protector. He’s big, he’s physical, he’s athletic. I think the core four of those guys as a frontcourt is as good as anybody. And I think that it’s largely the way that we’ve been dominant in that space over 10 years. But I also think it gives us a chance to modernize and catch up in some of the other areas as well.”

On using Antetokounmpo in more of a point forward role:

I feel like we’ve always played with a certain type of guard. Typically a guard that’s willing to catch and shoot, a guard that is capable of being a primary play-maker, but doesn’t need to be a primary play-maker. And I think some of our best teams that we’ve ever had — and we’ve had a lot of great teams — we had guys at the guard spot in that mold. They can really shoot. They’re capable and willing defenders, and they could go five, six, seven possessions and just play off Giannis, or they can go five, six, seven possessions and they can initiate our offense.

“And that’s what we’ve tried to do. We tried to build a team like that this offseason. Take the opportunity for Giannis to go even more down that road. I would say we’ve always doubled down on it, maybe we’re tripling down or quadrupling down on it now.

On whether the Bucks have done enough to build a roster capable of contending for a title:

“We’ve done everything, I’ve done everything within my human possible power this offseason. I feel like our group works our butts off. … And so have we done enough? I don’t know. We’ll find out. Have we done everything that we possibly could? Absolutely. And have we done more than anyone else could possibly do? I believe we have. And that’s not an arrogant thing to say. In a very humble way. I think we’ve done as much or more than anyone else could possibly do, and I’m proud of that.

“It’s a really tough Eastern Conference and it’s a really tough NBA and that’s what makes it fun. I think there are other teams that have had great offseasons. But we took our set of circumstances, we evaluated everything we possibly could to have the best possible chance that we could at the upcoming season. And I think we’re in that spot right now.”

Jericho Sims Re-Signs With Bucks

July 9th, 2025 at 7:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

July 9: Sims’ new deal with the Bucks is official, the team announced in a press release.

July 1: Jericho Sims will return to the Bucks on a two-year contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). He’ll have a player option on the second season of the deal.

The 26-year-old big man appeared in 14 games, all off the bench, after being acquired from New York in a four-team trade at the deadline. He averaged 2.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in 15 minutes per night with Milwaukee.

Terms of the new deal weren’t released, but Sims will get at least a modest raise over the $2MM he made in the final season of the three-year contract he signed with the Knicks. His minimum salary this season will be $2.46MM.

New York selected Sims with the 58th pick in 2021, but he was in and out of coach Tom Thibodeau‘s rotation during his three and a half years with the team. He has a chance to claim a larger role in his first full season with Milwaukee, possibly as the primary backup for newly acquired center Myles Turner.

The Bucks have been active since free agency began, waiving and stretching Damian Lillard to create cap room for Turner, re-signing free agents Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince and trading Pat Connaughton to Charlotte in exchange for Vasilije Micic.

Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst approached the offseason determined to put together a contender to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo from asking for a trade and has been very aggressive in the first 24 hours of the new league year.

Bucks Notes: Giannis, Rivers, LaVine, Horst

April 30th, 2025 at 5:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Now that the Bucks‘ season is over, Giannis Antetokounmpo will meet with management to discuss plans for his future and the team’s, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN, citing sources who spoke with the network’s Shams Charania. It’s a meeting that takes place every year, but the upcoming version will be anything but routine. As Collier notes, if Antetokounmpo decides he needs to leave Milwaukee to be part of a title contender, it will have enormous ramifications for the franchise and the league.

It’s easy to see how he could reach that conclusion after Damian Lillard suffered a torn left Achilles in Game 4 of their playoff series. The recovery process usually takes a year or more, so Lillard is unlikely to play next season, but his $54.1MM salary will remain on the team’s books, along with a $58.5MM player option for 2026/27. That and a shortage of draft capital will limit the Bucks’ ability to improve the roster this summer.

Antetokounmpo, who won a title with Milwaukee in 2021, is determined to capture at least one more before he retires. Collier notes that he discussed that topic earlier this month on a podcast hosted by his brother, Thanasis.

“Me not having a second championship — I look back at my career and everybody can say, ‘Oh, incredible career, active Hall of Famer, first ballot, whatever, but me, my personal goal, if I am not able to help my team win a second ring, I’m letting down myself,” Giannis said.

After Tuesday’s Game 5 loss, in which the Bucks squandered late leads in regulation and overtime, Antetokounmpo took on much of the blame, saying he needs to play better. But he was easily the best player in the series, averaging 33.8 points, 14.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists on 62% shooting, as he was healthy for the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Collier points out that Antetokounmpo has shown loyalty to Milwaukee whenever he’s had a chance to leave, signing a super-max extension in 2020 and another deal in 2023 that runs through the 2027/28 season. However, the team enters this offseason in a much different position, and Antetokounmpo may determine that his best chance to win is to go elsewhere.

There’s more from Milwaukee:

Antetokounmpo expressed support for coach Doc Rivers after Tuesday’s loss, Collier adds. Rivers has compiled a 65-53 record since taking over in the middle of last season, but he has two first-round playoff ousters. Rivers said he believes in the talent the Bucks have on hand and wishes the season could have played out differently. “I would love this team full,” Rivers said. “I really do. I would love this team where Dame was healthy and all that, but that wasn’t in the cards this year. What was in the cards was we found a lot of players through the year because of all the adversity that we had. A.J. Green came out of nowhere, and he’s a sensational player. Gary Trent Jr. has proven that he’s not only just a solid NBA player, but better than that. Bobby (Portis) playing heavy minutes at the five. Jericho (Sims) — another guy that we picked up and he turned out to be a force. (Kevin Porter Jr.) is going to be solid for us. He’s proven that he’s an NBA player, and (Kyle Kuzma), who didn’t have a great series, will help us. We never got him into the position where he could have been more successful. We will do that and he will be a successful player for us moving forward.”
The Bucks don’t control any of their first-round picks until 2031, and sources told Collier that they were unwilling to discuss that selection at the trade deadline. Collier hears that the team inquired about several high-profile players, including Zach LaVine while he was still in Chicago, but the reluctance to include the draft pick in any deal limited the front office’s options.
The franchise was determined to keep general manager Jon Horst after preventing him from meeting with the Pistons last offseason to discuss a position in their front office, sources tell Collier. Horst received a multiyear extension last week.

Central Notes: Giddey, Ball, Jones, Buzelis, Pistons, Sims

April 15th, 2025 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls guard Josh Giddey is dealing with a muscle issue on the side of his hand but he’s expected to suit up for the play-in game against Miami on Wednesday, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network reports.

“It’s just about managing the pain,” Giddey said, adding that the injury will be addressed in the offseason (Twitter links).

Giddey can’t imagine watching Wednesday’s game in street clothes.

“I’m good to go,” he said, per Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. “Play-in game, must-win game, there’s not way I’m going to sit out.”

Lonzo Ball (wrist) and Tre Jones (foot) won’t play.

We have more from the Central Division:

Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis plans to play for the Lithuanian national team, but he’s unsure about representing his country this offseason. “I’m not sure that I will come this summer. We have problems with the coaches,” he told Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net, referring to controversial comments by an assistant coach of the senior national team, Tomas Pacesas. “I have to talk to Jonas [Valanciunas], Domantas [Sabonis] and see what they will do.” Lithuania will participate in the EuroBasket tournament this summer. Sabonis is expected to sit out for personal reasons, while Valanciunas is expected to play.
The Pistons apparently don’t want Little Caesars Arena to have a large continent of Knicks fans during the first round of the playoffs, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes. Potential ticket buyers for upcoming playoff games in Detroit must produce a credit card with a mailing address “located in Michigan and in certain parts of Ohio, Indiana and Ontario, Canada,” according to Ticketmaster. However, a Pistons spokesman told Bondy that the restrictions are intended to target ticket brokers and reduce fraud.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers is “pretty sure” reserve big man Jericho Sims will be available for their opening-round series against Indiana. Sims participated in a majority of Tuesday’s practice, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. He hasn’t played since March 16 due to a thumb injury.

Bucks Become Sixth Eastern Team To Clinch Playoff Berth

April 5th, 2025 at 5:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Atlanta’s loss to New York this afternoon ensures that the Bucks will land one of the East’s six automatic playoff spots (Twitter link). Milwaukee entered today needing either a win at Miami or a Hawks loss against the Knicks to become the sixth Eastern team to officially clinch a berth. Atlanta’s 121-105 defeat means the Bucks are definitely in before they take the court.

It’s the team’s ninth consecutive playoff appearance, and while that’s a significant achievement, it’s not going to be enough to satisfy fans in Milwaukee after being ousted in the first round in the past two years amid injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks may have to put together a significant postseason run to avoid major changes this summer.

A large question looming over the organization ahead of the playoffs is the health of Damian Lillard, who has been sidelined since March 18 with a blood clot in his right calf. Coach Doc Rivers expressed optimism about Lillard’s condition earlier this week, and it appears the chances are increasing that he’ll be ready when the playoffs begin in two weeks.

The Bucks are also preparing for the return of Bobby Portis, who will be able to resume playing Tuesday after serving his 25-game suspension. Portis is one of the league’s top reserves, averaging 13.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 46 games before being suspended.

As always, Milwaukee’s fortunes will rest heavily on Antetokounmpo, who was selected to the All-Star Game this season for the ninth straight year. He’s putting up MVP-level numbers once again at 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 63 games, and he’s leading the NBA in both shots and free throws attempted per night. He missed All-Star Weekend due to a calf strain, but he’s been healthy for most of the season.

The Bucks made three additions at the trade deadline, picking up Kyle Kuzma from the Wizards, Kevin Porter Jr. from the Clippers and Jericho Sims from the Knicks. Kuzma moved into the starting lineup, Porter has become a valuable reserve and Sims was seeing minutes as a backup big man before undergoing thumb surgery last month.

At 42-34, Milwaukee is a half-game behind Detroit for fifth place in the East. The Bucks appear headed for a first-round series against the Knicks or Pacers, depending how the rest of the season plays out.

Bucks’ Jericho Sims Undergoes Thumb Surgery, Out Four Weeks

March 17th, 2025 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks reserve center Jericho Sims underwent surgery on Monday morning to repair a torn ligament on his right thumb, according to a team press release (Twitter link). He is expected to be sidelined for approximately four weeks with a likely return for the playoffs, the statement adds.

Sims suffered the thumb injury on Saturday against the Pacers, but had initially planned to play through it. He finished the game against Indiana and suited up on Sunday against Oklahoma City, playing 12 scoreless minutes with four rebounds.

However, head coach Doc Rivers had indicated before Sunday’s game that the injury wasn’t a minor one and that surgery was one of the treatment options under consideration.

Sims, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has played 14 games off the bench since the Bucks acquired him in a deadline deal. He’s averaging 2.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game with his new team, having earned a rotation role in large part due to Bobby Portis‘ 25-game suspension.

Milwaukee acquired Sims in the four-team deal that sent Khris Middleton to Washington. The former second-round pick out of Texas spent the first three and a half years of his career with the Knicks.

Tyler Smith and Pete Nance could see more playing time the rest of the regular season, as the Bucks are thin at the five spot until Portis’ suspension ends.

Jericho Sims Playing Through Thumb Injury, Surgery A Consideration

March 16th, 2025 at 9:45pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Bucks backup big man Jericho Sims suffered a right thumb injury on Saturday against the Pacers, but will play through it, at least for the time being. After suffering the injury, which is the team is calling a sprain, he finished the game against Indiana and suited up on Sunday against Oklahoma City.

However, according to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (Twitter link), when asked on Sunday if Sims will be able to comfortably play through the injury, head coach Doc Rivers replied, “No. It’s a pretty good injury. Probably decisions will have to be made.”

Asked if that means surgery is an option, Rivers continued, “Yeah, it’s a consideration, for sure.”

Milwaukee acquired Sims in the four-team deal that re-routed Khris Middleton to Washington. The big man, who sees rotation minutes off the bench for the Bucks, scored four points and 11 rebounds on Thursday, though most of those numbers were compiled before his injury. In 13 games with Milwaukee entering Sunday, Sims is averaging 2.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per night.

Sims got in the first quarter against the Thunder, sporting a brace on his thumb. While the exact plan for Sims is still unclear, given Rivers’ pregame comments, it’s possible the Bucks are evaluating his ability to play through the injury before considering a potential surgery. It’s not uncommon for players to undergo necessary procedures in the offseason if they’re not urgent.

The former second-round pick out of Texas spent the first three and a half years of his career with the Knicks. He’s currently the fourth big in the Bucks’ rotation. If he is to miss any time due to the injury, the Bucks will need to get creative with options to replace his minutes. Tyler Smith and Pete Nance are the only other players on the roster listed 6’10” or above.

Bucks Notes: Giannis, Porter, Sims, Kuzma, Bridgeman

March 16th, 2025 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The battle to be named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player this season has turned into a two-man race, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic considered the heavy favorites to earn the honor. But two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has been arguably just as productive this year as he was in the two seasons he won the award (2018-20), a fact that Bucks head coach Doc Rivers highlighted following Saturday’s victory over Indiana.

“It’s funny, I was talking to one of the better coaches in the league and he brought it up,” Rivers said, per Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “He said, ‘How the hell is no one talking about Giannis? He is doing different stuff. His assists keep going up. I mean, I don’t know what the guy has to do.'”

Across his two MVP seasons, Antetokounmpo averaged 28.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game, with a 56.6% shooting percentage. Through 54 games this season, the star forward has put up 30.6 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 5.9 APG, and 1.2 BPG on 60.5% shooting.

“I’m not going to campaign (for him to be named MVP),” Rivers continued. “I’m not going to do that, but he is a forgotten guy with what he’s doing for our basketball team.”

Here’s more on the Bucks:

The Pacers won four of five regular season games over Milwaukee a year ago, then knocked the Bucks out of the playoffs in the first round. The two teams currently hold the fourth and fifth spots in the East and could meet in the first round again this spring, so the Bucks recognized the importance of Saturday’s victory, which gave them the tiebreaker edge over Indiana, as well as a one-game lead in the standings. “Obviously, we wanted to get the tiebreaker,” Damian Lillard said, according to Nehm. “And a team that we’ve played so many times over the last two seasons, you know it’s going to be a physical game. It’s gonna be a competitive game … but we were able to pull it out, so that’s what really counts.”
In a separate story for The Athletic, Nehm takes a look at how trade-deadline additions Kevin Porter and Jericho Sims are impacting the Bucks, writing that getting Porter’s ball-control issues in check is a priority. Entering Saturday’s game, the guard had committed multiple turnovers in nine consecutive games despite averaging just 15.6 minutes per night. “That’s non-negotiable,” Rivers said. “Especially late in the season, you just can’t turn the ball over. He knows that, but he’s still doing it right now. But we still want him to be aggressive.” Porter had 16 points and four assists with no turnovers in 19 minutes of action on Saturday.
Of course, the Bucks’ biggest deadline addition was Kyle Kuzma. Jamal Collier of ESPN explores what Kuzma has brought to the team and why general manager Jon Horst believes that the forward’s versatility will make Antetokounmpo and Lillard more dangerous.
As outlined in a report from The Associated Press, the Bucks are wearing patches on their jerseys for the rest of the season to honor Junior Bridgeman, the team’s minority owner and former player who died this past week.

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