LAS VEGAS – After perhaps the most challenging game of his recent return, Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton sat stoically in front of his locker with his surgically repaired ankles in an ice bucket and ice packs wrapped around his battered knees. While the rust and struggle are evident, the injury-plagued Middleton has kept perspective in his daunting quest to return to his All-Star form.

“The best part of my return is just playing basketball,” Middleton told Andscape after the Bucks 110-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Cup semifinals on Saturday. “When you’re in rehab, you do a lot of working out, a lot of conditioning, a lot of one-on-zero stuff. When you’re out of rehab, you get to play. That’s it. Just being able to play basketball, that’s all …

“I love doing it. I have the utmost confidence in myself. I’ve always believed in myself. I love what I do.”

Middleton is a three-time NBA All-Star, an NBA champion and has averaged at least 20 points per game in four seasons. The 13-year NBA veteran, however, has been stymied more by injuries than his opponents since 2022 and is trying to regain his footing while coming off the bench.

Following the Bucks’ 2021 NBA title season, a sprained medial collateral ligament Middleton’s left knee caused him to miss the final 10 playoff games in 2022. The 33-year-old was limited to 33 games during the 2022-23 season and 55 games last season due to a variety of injuries. And Middleton missed the Bucks’ first 21 games of this season after recovering from surgery on both ankles.

The Bucks (14-11) started the season 4-9 without Middleton. As much as he wanted to come back, he said he had to listen to his body and be smart about his return.

“I can’t [rush]. As much as I want to, as much as they want to, I can’t. I got to trust [the medical staff] if I can do it,” Middleton said. “I can’t come back and be the hero. This is a team. No matter who is out there, we have to belief in group that is out there. That is the perspective I took to not put pressure on myself and rest myself.”

Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (right) plays in the NBA Cup semifinal game against the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images

In his quest to come back, Middleton said he “followed the reports some” written by NBA media about his return. He also was bothered by media pundits’ takes that he didn’t want to play.

“A couple of [media reports], to me, didn’t make sense as to why they were put out there or why they even put the wording out there [about me being medically cleared],” Middleton said. “But that is part of it. Everyone goes to the doctor. The doctor tells you that you’re good, but that doesn’t mean you can still go out there and do what you do. That is all it was for me.

“People say I was scared to play mentally, or whatever case may be. It was just I wasn’t ready to play physically, mentally. When you go through injuries, when you go through surgeries, you have to make sure physically you feel fine and mentally you’re there. All the way around, you have to be ready to play.”

Retirement was never a consideration for Middleton. He also told Andscape that he leaned on his family, close friends and teammates to get through his injuries mentally, and that he got the most support from his teammates.

“I was able to talk and joke with them,” Middleton said of his teammates. “Use them as a distraction when you’re going through something. It has been great for me and hopefully I can help them out whenever they’re in need.”

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“We have his back. His voice, his experience, his leadership has been great to have all season. It’s great to have him back,” Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. said.

Middleton made his season debut Dec. 6 with a minutes restriction during a 111-105 road loss to the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. Middleton’s return marked only the 43rd time that he, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard had played together since the beginning of the 2023-24 season and only his 12th game under coach Doc Rivers.

As challenging as Middleton’s rehab had been, not being his old dominating self in his return was tough to digest.

“The toughest day [mentally] was my first day of playing,” Middleton said. “You have a lot of questions about yourself. You worry about your wind and how you feel. Those type of things. What is going to happen if you take a hard fall or a hard hit? Those are all thoughts, but I tell myself, ‘You got to get yourself through it.’

“At the end of the day, you’re going to survive and you’re going to be all right. That was the toughest day, the first day playing.”

Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (left) talks with forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (right0 during the second half of the game against the Houston Rockets at Fiserv Forum on Dec. 17, 2023, in Milwaukee.

John Fisher/Getty Images

With an NBA Cup final berth at stake, Rivers said Middleton’s toughest game this season was on Saturday. Middleton called it his “most disappointing” game of the season.

In four games, Middleton is averaging 7.0 points, his second lowest average of his career, on 25.9% shooting from the field, 5.8 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game. The 6-foot-7, 222-pounder had six points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field, missed four of five 3-point attempts, and had 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 5 fouls in 22 minutes against Atlanta.

In the last 2:48, Middleton had two turnovers, called a timeout after struggling to inbound the ball and had a shot blocked.

“It’s so funny, he looked to me with like five seconds [left] like, ‘I need a do-over,’ ” Rivers said of Middleton. “And I said, ‘Well, you get it Tuesday.’ That’s the great thing about the NBA. You could see the rust. Like the layups, the transition where we threw it ahead, before he knew it, that’s at least a foul or a basket.

“I got to tell you, halfway into that drive I was sitting there thinking, this is not looking good right now. But you got to keep trusting him, putting him out there, because the more minutes he plays, all that will come back. He’s so important to our team and he still in a lot of ways organizes our team better than anyone on our floor can do it. So, getting him back is huge for us.”

“I’m more pissed off at myself for having a bad game in a big game. I keep telling myself its part of the process. Every day is not going to be great. You should have to take it. Take your L’s, learn from it, move from it and respond from it,” Middleton said.

“Hopefully Tuesday I have a better game. Hopefully we win. [Saturday] was the most disappointing. I had a bad game but we still won. I’m staying positive. Not killing myself. I know I am going to have bad games from time to time.”

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With five total days in Las Vegas, there is a lot of downtime for fun for the Bucks. But for Middleton, his focus will be on his body.

“Most of my free time goes into taking care of my body just to continue to play the game I love,” Middleton said. “It’s not a hassle for me or I wouldn’t do it. I love taking care of my body. I love working out. I love working on my game. I love doing this.”

A year ago, the Bucks lost to the Indiana Pacers here in the NBA Cup semifinals. The Bucks’ victory over Atlanta on Saturday vaulted them to the NBA Cup final on Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. A solid game by Middleton can play a pivotal role in Milwaukee beating the Thunder and each player being awarded $500,000.

While Middleton makes $31 million this season, he is still excited about the opportunity to land $500,000.

“It’s going to be fun,” Middleton said of the NBA Cup final. “We missed an opportunity last year. We have another crack at it Tuesday …

“Who doesn’t get excited for $500,000? No matter you have or make, $500,000 is $500,000. We’re definitely excited about it. There is a lot on the line. I hope we can go home with the Cup, the money and the bragging rights.”

Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.

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