Coming off of Giannis Antetokounmpo's 10th NBA All-Star Weekend – a break from a season that's been riddled with injury and noise – the Milwaukee Bucks superstar had a message for his fans.
"I have two words: THANK YOU!" he wrote in a Feb. 17 Instagram post with snapshots from the weekend's festivities.
"You allow me and my family to create beautiful memories and experiences that we will cherish and talk about forever. I promise I will never take that for granted."
Just days before sustaining a Jan. 23 calf strain, it had been announced that Antetokounmpo was again voted to start in the All-Star Game – his 10th consecutive selection, and what would've marked his 10th start.
This season, Antetokounmpo set the NBA record for most career games with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. He also became the sixth-youngest player, and the 42nd overall, to score 21,000 career points.
While Antetokounmpo wouldn't end up playing in this year's All-Star Game due to his injury, he still made the most of the weekend – coaching the winning Celebrity Game team with brothers Thanasis and Alex; participating in the NBA Cares Day of Service with his wife, Mariah; spending time with sons Liam and Maverick; brushing elbows with former president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama; and repping Michael Jackson, of whom he's a "huge, huge" fan.
The photos the former MVP shared in the post included several with his sons, who were sporting custom sweatsuits featuring images of their dad. There were pics of Giannis and the boys with Barack and Michelle at the All-Star Game; Giannis posing in his team World jersey; his All-Star locker; and more. Team World was comprised of mainly foreign-born players while the USA Stars and USA Stripes teams were made up of Americans.
"It’s been an up-and-down season with injuries," Antetokounmpo said in the post.
Antetokounmpo sustained a left adductor strain Nov. 17 and missed the next four games. He returned on a minutes restriction Nov. 28, then strained the soleus in his right calf Dec. 3 and was out another eight games. He'd return on Dec. 27 under another minutes restriction that he was going to play under for an indefinite amount of time.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said that the organization felt ramping up Antetokounmpo’s minutes gradually would help prevent reinjury. But, on Jan. 23, Antetokounmpo would be sidelined by injury again.
While around that time, Rivers said there was no timetable for Antetokounmpo's return, he said it wasn't a season-ending injury.
"When I get back out there, I’ll play for each and every one of you," Antetokounmpo continued in his post. "That’s the least I can do."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo thanks fans after All-Star Weekend