Taurean Prince missed the Bucks’ last two games with a strained neck, before an MRI revealed the herniated disk. Jason Miller / Getty Images

By Eric Nehm

Nov. 10, 2025Updated Nov. 11, 2025 12:33 am EST

MILWAUKEE — Monday morning, the Milwaukee Bucks announced that forward Taurean Prince recently underwent an MRI that revealed a herniated disk in his neck. The injury will keep Prince sidelined indefinitely as the team’s medical staff determines the best treatment plan for his recovery and eventual return.

After appearing in each of the Bucks’ first eight games, Prince has been sidelined for the last two games with a neck strain.

Prince started 73 games for the Bucks last season and re-signed in Milwaukee as a free agent this summer. To start the season, head coach Doc Rivers used Prince in a key role off the bench. Over the team’s first eight games, Prince averaged 6.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game, while knocking down 42.9 percent from 3.

Prince’s indefinite absence is the second key injury to hit the Bucks in the first 10 games of the season. Starting point guard Kevin Porter Jr. sustained a left ankle sprain in the first quarter of the first game of the season and then subsequently tore the meniscus in his right knee while trying to recover from his initial injury.

It’s plenty of ppl you could easily count out but I’m not one of them. All I did was finish a chapter in the book to start the next one. It is what it is and it will never be what it’s not. Be back soon, love! #P5 #FH #LLCW🕊️♥️👌🏿

— TP (@taureanprince) November 10, 2025

Amir Coffey has stepped into Prince’s role in the last two games, but the Bucks are now missing two of the top eight players in Rivers’ rotation from the start of the season. Prince, in particular, will be difficult to replace because the Bucks do not have many big wings on the roster.

Kyle Kuzma has played plenty of minutes at small forward over the first eight years of his NBA career, but Rivers has attempted to use him primarily at power forward to start the 2025-26 season. Rivers has also deployed a non-traditional starting lineup with two shooting guards — AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. — playing alongside point guard Ryan Rollins, plus a frontcourt of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner.

Despite the early injuries, the Bucks have managed to get out to a 6-4 start behind spectacular play from Antetokounmpo, but continuing to cover 20 minutes for Prince and 30 minutes for Porter will be a significant test of Milwaukee’s depth as the season progresses.

Nov 11, 2025

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Eric Nehm is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Milwaukee Bucks. Previously, he covered the Bucks at ESPN Milwaukee and wrote the book “100 Things Bucks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” Nehm was named NSMA’s 2022 Wisconsin Sports Writer of the Year. Follow Eric on Twitter @eric_nehm