by MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton told reporters Monday during media day that he is feeling “great” heading into training camp but has not yet been cleared for five-on-five action after undergoing offseason surgery on both of his ankles had undergone. He is expected to be ready for the start of the season.
“He will participate in camp,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “We won’t have him doing a lot of live-action, coming off surgery and all that, but all our skeletal work, all our transition work, our transition defense, our conditioning work, he’ll be on the floor with us.”
This was another summer of rehabilitation for Middleton, who had major ankle problems last season and was limited to 55 games.
Middleton sprained his left ankle on February 6 when he landed on Kevin Durant’s foot during a loss to the Phoenix Suns. “I can’t think of an ankle sprain, I’ve had that bad,” he said at the time. He ultimately missed nearly six weeks of action before returning to the court in late March.
Then in Game 2 of the team’s first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, Middleton sprained his right ankle. Although he missed no time the rest of the way and even put together one of the best postseason outings of his career in Game 3, the Bucks were eliminated in six games.
Middleton confirmed Monday that the procedures were directly related to the sprains he suffered during the season. “After I took a few weeks off, I realized they weren’t feeling the way I thought they should,” Middleton said. “I realized I needed the clean-up process to prepare for the upcoming season.”
While this isn’t an ideal way for Middleton to start his 13th season in the league, everyone was optimistic that he will be back to his best soon.
“Khris is doing really well,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. “It’s just a normal offseason cleaning procedure. He’s literally on the field right now as we talk. He’ll be a very active participant in camp, so Khris is healthy as well.”
Since spraining his knee in the first round of the 2022 playoffs, Middleton has struggled to stay on the field. He played 88 regular-season games over the past two seasons and underwent surgery on his wrist, knee and ankles. Last season he was on a minutes limit to start and didn’t play in either back-to-back game.
As for how the team plans to keep him healthy this time around, Rivers said the team hasn’t finalized a plan yet. Middleton, who said he feels like he has been “unlucky” in recent years, said he will listen to his body and the team’s medical staff to get as close to the playoffs as possible.
“Knowing my limits, knowing what pain is, knowing what you can play through and when it’s not smart to keep playing,” Middleton said. “I’ve learned that a lot over the years. And that doesn’t mean I played when I shouldn’t be playing, or that I played when I shouldn’t be playing. It’s just experience, going through the years and talking to other people who have been through similar situations, I will always learn something about myself and my body as I get older.
Middleton and the Bucks will travel to California for training camp, which will take place on the UC-Irvine campus. Their first preseason game is scheduled for October 6 against the Detroit Pistons.
