Giannis Antetokounmpo shows a different kind of dominance
Giannis Antetokounmpo being the best player on the floor wherever he plays in the norm. For Greece in EuroBasket 2025, he needed to be more than that. He needed to show that can adjust his approach to domination. We got the blueprint for that in their last 16 win over Israel.
Considering how long he’s been part of the Greece national team, it’s infuriating to think it took until EuroBasket 2025 for Greece to find the best way to use Giannis Antetokounmpo. Vassilis Spanoulis appears to have finally hit on the approach to maximise the impact of his greatness.
Well, hello there
Giannis Antetokounmpo opened with simplicity. He got a look on the elbow, he liked it, and drained a smooth three. Then he decided he was going to drive up the left side of the lane and score. Guess what happened? Exactly. Next missed shot at the other end? Gianns Antetokounmpo got the rebound.
That Giannis is really good at basketball isn’t news. Nor is it that he tends to make it look easy for himself at times. The difference is how he was carrying himself while making it look easy here in Riga. Three years ago, Greece ran him hard through the group phase. It was phenomenal to witness in person. It also wasted energy needlessly.
Greece arrived in Riga for their last 16 clash with Israel determined to not make the same mistake. Giannis sat twice in the group phase, with Greece still topping the group with a 4-1 record. While he may be as important to Greece as Luka Doncic is to Slovenia, the rest of the Greek roster is much more capable of delivering without him than Luka’s co-stars are. Giannis was at EuroBasket 2025 with an eye on a medal. This, not the group phase, was step one.
Oh he wanted this
Giannis Antetokounmpo decided to step things up in the back half of the first quarter. Clearly Vassilis Spanoulis had a word with him. The Greek Freak aggressively sought to draw contact in the paint, getting the dual benefit of and-1s and racking up the foul count for Israel.
Having hit 11 points in the first 8 minutes, Antetokounmpo sat following his first foul albeit only for just over a minute. Kostas and Thanasis Antetokounmpo stayed on the floor while he rested. Both were on the roster three years ago but Kostas never suited up, having failed to overcome his injury issues.
With 8.1 seconds left he was redeployed. Everyone knew what was going to happen. They just couldn’t do anything about it. Giannis with the dunk. Greece up 6 to after 10 minutes.
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Wear it out
With Israel having to run their starters on awfully heavy minutes, Spanoulis opted to give extended rest to his starters to open the second quarter. He let the reserves work to keep the pace hot and they only gave up 2 points from their lead before Giannis Antetokounmpo returned. He immediately busted through for a dunk because of course he did.
This is arguably the version of the Greek national team that has most understood what they have in Giannis. Whereas Slovenia have to spam Luka, Greece want to put him in situations where he can punish opponents. That isn’t what we’re used to.
Past editions just leaned on their superstar to do the hard running then to come in and dominate in optimal circumstances. Spanoulis, in only his second tournament as head coach, clearly spotted a need to adjust after Paris 2024. To win a medal, let alone a championship, the Greek system had to work for Giannis rather than Giannis just being the Greek system.
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A matter of measurement
This change in style from Greece leads to games appearing competitive longer. Without getting Giannis Antetokounmpo to try and blow teams out early, clashes look more in the balance than they likely are. Israel were very much in touch on the scoreboard through the midpoint of the third quarter here but that only told half the story.
By that stage, Giannis had played just 18 minutes compared to 22 for Deni Avidja. Israel were leaning heavily on their core for high usage whereas they were selective with Giannis. His numbers remained impressive, with 27 points and 6 rebounds in that spell. The key was to get that usage but leave enough in the tank for the denouement.
Failing to win a medal with this star so far while the other key players around him keep aging has been a source of discomfort for Greek basketball fans. Kostas Sloukas and Kostas Papanikolaou, the next two most important players for them, are likely in their last edition of EuroBasket and may well not complete the current Olympic cycle. In many respects, this was the best remaining chance for Giannis to win something for Greece.
It gets harder from here
Greece got the job done in the round of 16, as they were expected to. Making the quarter finals of any EuroBasket, never mind the frantic EuroBasket 2025, is considered a bare minimum. It’s how they handle that next stage where we’ll see if Spanoulis and his management of Giannis Antetokounmpo will pay off.
In Lithuania, they face an opponent that has an interesting approach when facing teams with one NBA star big man. Rimas Kurtinaitis is an old fox and likely has something up his sleeve. That being said, Spanoulis has quickly established himself as one of Europe’s wiser tactical minds on the sideline.
The Greek Freak has his chance at the medal rounds. This is likely the last time he’ll have a roster good enough to get there. Considering how many seasons he has left in his NBA career, that feels odd but time is a curious beast.
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