Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo practices for first time this season and declares: 'I feel good.'

Nine days into the start of training camp for the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo was able to get out onto the practice court at the Sports Science Center and play five-on-five for the first time Wednesday afternoon.

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said the next step for Antetokounmpo is to see how his body reacts to the session as the team heads to Brooklyn in advance of Friday’s preseason game at Barclays Center. He added the team will get in some work in the gym after landing in New York on Thursday.

“I think it’s fair to say there’s still a ramp-up phase,” Budenholzer said. “Today is really just his first time practicing and to include some five-on-five. We’ll see how he responds and plan each day kind of accordingly.”

Antetokounmpo did not take questions but said, “I practiced today. My first practice was good. The team looked good. I felt good. I gotta get up to date with the guys. They’re 10 speeds ahead of me but I feel good. Things look really, really good for me now. I’m getting back healthy. I’m feeling good so I’m excited.”

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The 26-year-old forward is still recovering from a left knee injury suffered during the Eastern Conference finals on June 29. Antetokounmpo, of course, returned to play in the NBA Finals on July 6 and helped the Bucks capture the championship with a performance that earned him the Finals most valuable player award.

“I think we’ve been saying it from the beginning – I think it’s something that he’s aware of, has a plan, knowledge and execution,” Budenholzer said. “(Wednesday) was that next step. I’d say he looked good, he looked bouncy, executed, played well.”

Jrue Holiday (knee) and Khris Middleton (hamstring) also participated in the five-on-five practice, but Donte DiVincenzo (ankle), Bobby Portis (hamstring), Semi Ojeleye (calf) and Rodney Hood (foot) did not.

“Just realistically, or logistically, if you’re new, to miss these reps is a little bit hard,” Budenholzer said of newcomers Hood and Ojeleye. “But they’ve both played in the league awhile, they’re both smart players, I think they’re going to be fine. At the end of the day the most important thing is that they’re both healthy. So when they get healthy we feel like they’re gonna help us and we don’t want to rush that process.

“For their comfort, for their confidence, we always talk about you play better when you’re not thinking. That takes some time to get to that. So they’ll both, I think, be anxious to get back and playing and learning and kind of getting through that phase of playing and learning.”