Giannis Antetokounmpo has glory within reach
There’s a missing piece in the Giannis Antetokounmpo story. For all of his glory with the Milwaukee Bucks, there’s one goal he’s never managed. His first shot at winning a medal with Greece is Friday at EuroBasket 2025. He may never get a better one.
Basketball wasn’t really a religion in Greece before Nikos Galis. Once it became one, there were highs, close calls, and, more recently, too many false dawns. Giannis Antetokounmpo brought the like back to Greek basketball like few could have imagined. At EuroBasket 2025, in the semi final round he’s got an enormous opportunity to add to his legacy.
The foundation
Prior to Nikos Galis, Greece had a total of one bronze medal in EuroBasket in 1949, no appearances in the medal rounds since, and no FIBA World Cup appearances. Once Galis arrived, everything changed. In 1986, they played in the World Cup for the first time. The following year was their first EuroBasket triumph.
By the time Giannis Antetokounmpo was born in 1994, Greece had added another silver medal and two more fourth places at EuroBasket. The Athens he was born in had Panthinaikos (1996) and Olympiacos (1997) become crowned kings of Europe for the first time.
Had he been born even a decade earlier, Giannis likely would have been moved towards volleyball or another sport that would have valued such length and athleticism but further from the global eye. The revolution started by Nik Galis was vital to the story we know today. A player we marvel at was born into an environment that was waiting for someone like him.
The gap
Greece would be crowned EuroBasket champions in 2005 and take World Cup silver a year later, beating the USA in the semi-finals. The good times were rolling. Little did anyone realise when Greece took EuroBasket bronze in 2009 that they wouldn’t play for another medal, in any major tournament, for another 16 years.
That’s not the fault of Giannis Antetokounmpo. He has been with the national side since 2014 and has excelled for them repeatedly. Just like in the NBA, there was the formative time before he found the real force that he is. Then came the individual accolades but, unlike the NBA, he has yet to taste true success. Never mind a title, he hasn’t even played for a medal.
That it has taken Greece so long to develop a system that is designed to best use Giannis is concerning. At least Vassilis Spanoulis recognised it. Instead of running Antetokounmpo into the ground to dominate as much as possible, Greece now make smart use of their back-ups so a rested Giannis can take down tired opponents with authority.
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The opponent
Greece and Türkiye have a lot of history, no I mean a lot more than that. It’s safe to say the atmosphere in Riga on Friday will be intense but even when all the national pride is set aside, this is still a heck of a match-up.
Greece will work with Giannis Antetokounmpo to get him in as good a position as he can to dominate. A key part of doing that will be ensuring Türkiye’s Alperen Sengun’s creativity can be contained to some degree. Sengun will get his points and get his board. Greece can live with that. What could undo them is allowing him to create as much for the options around him.
With that in mind, here are a few key areas to watch. Firstly, the health of Cedi Osman. Türkiye coach Ergin Ataman says he will play but play hurt. That’s a big option for Türkiye. The other is how Kostas Antetokounmpo is used defensively. Smart use of the younger Antetokounmpo will make it a lot easier for Kostas Papanikolaou, Kostas Sloukas, and Vasileos Toliopoulos.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo knows his brother Kostas could play a big role in his EuroBasket medal quest
The legacy
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the greatest Greek basketball player to ever lace up shoes. He might well be the best European to do so as well. Everyone knows he will be in both the Naismith and FIBA halls of fame on the first ballot. Yet bringing a medal to the national team would cement him as a true hero in his homeland for eternity.
We can worry about Nikos Galis icon status after this game. If Giannis ends the long wait for Greece to get a medal at EuroBasket 2025, against Türkiye no less, then he will have filled the hole in his resume.
This was the match-up that every neutral craved once the field for the knockout stage was set. Giannis, in his prime, against Sengun entering his. Ataman, a wily old coach, against Spanoulis, the legendary player who is a rising star on the bench. Add in all the usual Greece and Türkiye elements and it was made for box office. Giannis often saves his best for when the lights shine brightest.
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