NBA Rumors: Bucks' Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Giannis' Brother, Has Torn Achilles Injury

The Milwaukee Bucks' 2023-24 season came to an end with their first-round loss to the Indiana Pacers, but one of their players still received unfortunate news Wednesday.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo suffered a torn Achilles and will need surgery. He is the brother of star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who didn't play in the series against the Pacers because of his own calf injury.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo appeared in three minutes in Milwaukee's 120-98 loss in Thursday's closeout Game 6 against Indiana.

While there is never an ideal time to suffer a significant injury that could take a year or more to recover from, this is particularly brutal timing for the 31-year-old.

After all, he will be an unrestricted free agent during the upcoming offseason. There likely won't be many teams clamoring to sign a role player who may be sidelined for the entire 2024-25 campaign as he recovers from this setback.

He played in 34 games this season and averaged 0.9 points, 0.5 assists, 0.4 rebounds and 0.2 steals a night while shooting 53.3 percent. He rarely played important minutes when games were still hanging in the balance and instead frequently came in near the end of contests that were already decided.

That is why he was on the floor at the end of Milwaukee's Game 6 loss to the Pacers.

His role was quite different from his brother's considering Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the best players in the league and a two-time MVP.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is signed through the 2026-27 campaign with a player option for 2027-28, so perhaps the Bucks will still re-sign his brother in an effort to keep their star player happy ahead of potential contract decisions down the line.

But Thanasis Antetokounmpo likely won't be contributing on the court next season.