After One Last Obstacle, Donte DiVencenzo Is Finally Back With The Milwaukee Bucks

Donte DiVincenzo woke up the morning of Dec. 14 more excited than he’d been in months.

Then, the phone rang, and as so often the case, everything changed for the Milwaukee Bucks’ young guard. 

“I was at my house and as soon as I saw (head athletic trainer Scott Faust’s) name pop up on my phone, I was borderline about to hit ‘decline,’ DiVincenzo said. “And as soon as he said sorry, I was like ‘awwww…..'”

You can guess how that statement finished. 

Faust was calling to inform DiVincenzo that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and would be placed into the league’s health and safety protocols for at least 10 days. In that regard, DiVincenzo was hardly unique. He was one of many sidelined by the virus as the omicron variant wreaked havoc on the league but for DiVincenzo, the call couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time as that day, Dec. 14, was supposed to mark his long-awaited return from a left foot injury that left him on the outside looking in during Milwaukee’s championship run last season.

After more than six months of waiting and working, another 10 days wasn’t all that much of an issue and in the grand scheme of things, the delay was hardly a delay at all. In fact, it all worked out almost exactly how DiVincenzo had planned.

Cleared from the protocols on Dec. 24, DiVincenzo finally stepped back on the court a day later when the Bucks played host to Boston on Christmas Day.

“I had the mindset that I’m coming back in December and in my head, I was thinking ‘Christmas,” DiVincenzo said Monday while the Bucks prepared for a trip to Orlando. “When the protocol happened, it was all part of God’s plan for me. I came back (on) Christmas. I had that mindset the whole time and I just stuck by it.”

Breakout season cut short

Milwaukee’s first-round selection (No. 17 overall) in the 2018 NBA Draft, DiVincenzo was finally coming into his own last season. He appeared in 66 games, all of them as a starter, while establishing career-bests in scoring (10.4 points per game), rebounds (5.8), assists (3.1) and 3-point shooting percentage (37.9%). 

He was poised to play a significant role as the Bucks opened the playoffs looking to get over the hump after two straight early postseason exits but three games into Milwaukee’s first-round series against Miami, DiVincenzo’s season came to an abrupt — and painful — end when he tore a ligament in his left foot trying to drive past the Heat’s Goran Dragic in the second quarter of Milwaukee’s 113-84 victory. 

DiVincenzo underwent surgery 10 days later then watched from the sideline as the Bucks continued their their march toward the team’s first championship in 50 years.

“It was tough to be out and watch the championship run,” DiVincenzo said.

As tough as that was, it paled in comparison to the rehab process that came next. With only 76 days between the Game 6 of the Finals and the start of training camp, it was an almost certainty that DiVincenzo wouldn’t be ready to go when the season got underway on Oct. 19.

That’s where Christmas entered the equation.

“I didn’t want to just kind of go in every day and just start doing rehab because for me, as a competitor and as a player, you want to have something to work toward,” DiVincenzo said. “So I told (Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer) I said in my head I’m saying December.”

The process wasn’t always easy. DiVincenzo credits his physical therapist Andrew Small and strength and conditioning coach Michael Davie for helping him through the physical rehabilitation. He’s also grateful to his family and teammates who helped him with his mental rehab, which was often just as grueling as the physical work.

During his time away, DiVincenzo leaned heavily on George Hill, Eric Bledsoe and George Teague; all of whom experienced and recovered from their own injuries over the years.

“It was huge,” DiVincenzo said of their support. “I might be good for a week, but when that eighth day comes around, I’d be miserable and those are the days when I would call those dudes to one, pick me up and two, ask them ‘what did y’all do when you went through this.’ Everybody’s different, like I said, but everybody goes through struggles being away from what they do and those three guys really helped me out.”

Triumphant Return

DiVincenzo’s wait finally ended with 7:40 left in the opening period against the Celtics and as he made his way from the bench to the scorer’s table to the floor, a sellout crowd of 17,341 — which included his father, John — welcomed him back with a standing ovation.

They didn’t seem to mind when DiVincenzo — in the words of teammate Jrue Holiday — “smoked” two layups then missed a 3-pointer and roared with approval when he finally scored his first points when took a feed from Khris Middleton and knocked down a 3 with 5:08 left in the third.

“I was sitting on the couch at home (after the game) and just were talking to my dad, reflecting on it,” DiVincenzo said. “To go through what I went through and to be out the start of the season, it felt good sitting at home and just knowing how much I was appreciated coming back into the game.”

By the time the horn sounded on Milwaukee’s thrilling, 117-113 comeback victory, DiVincenzo had played 15 minutes and 41 seconds and done so without any hint of worry about his surgically-repaired foot.

“I was telling Jrue afterwards, it kind of felt like rookie year,” DiVincenzo said. “I had those little butterflies in my stomach, anxious being on the court, just running around, I was like, ‘I’m back.’”