Tim BontempsESPN
PHOENIX — Milwaukee Bucks guard Thanasis Antetokounmpo entered the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols Saturday afternoon, and was listed as out for Game 5 of the NBA Finals Saturday night.
“I think the health and safety protocols are on the front of everybody’s minds right now,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think we’re in a good place and ready to go.”
Budenholzer later said the Bucks wouldn’t have a full staff available for Game 5, with sources telling ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews that assistant coach Josh Oppenheimer won’t be on the bench. It will be the third straight game he’s missed, sources told Wojnarowski and Andrews.
Meanwhile, the NBA announced a little more than an hour before tipoff referee Sean Wright would also miss the game after entering the league’s health and safety protocols.
Antetokounmpo, the older brother of two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, was not listed on the league’s 1:30pm injury report before appearing on the 5:30pm edition.
Antetokounmpo, who turns 29 Sunday, has played a total of 45 minutes across 13 playoff games. He played 93 seconds in Milwaukee’s Game 3 win, the lone time he’s played through the first four games of the NBA Finals.
Phoenix Suns star Chris Paul missed the first two games of the Western Conference finals after he tested positive for COVID-19.
