The GSPN Greek National Team Primer
Everything you need to know about the Antetokounbros, the Greek National Team and EuroBasket.
Editor’s note: the following article was written by Gyro Step assistant producer Eugene Choursoutoglou. Follow him on Twitter for more of his Bucks thoughts straight from Greece as Giannis and Thanasis chase a gold medal this summer!
While we are in the midst of — what feels like — a long offseason, Bucks fans will have the opportunity to enjoy Giannis and Thanasis (and possibly Alex) Antetokounmpo playing basketball very soon!
The Bucks trio has been included in Greece’s preliminary 23-player roster for FIBA EuroBasket 2022 and the last couple of games for the World Cup Qualifiers. Kostas Antetokounmpo is also included in the list which completes the Antetokounmpo basketball quartet. This is the first time we get to see all of the Antetokounmpo brothers on the same team!
Mark your calendars
Preparation for the two competitions starts on August 1, so the Antetokounbros are already in camp with the Greek squad. World Cup Qualifiers come first as Greece plays against Jokic’s Serbia on the August 25 and against Belgium three days later on August 28 with tip-off times yet to be announced. What’s better than a Giannis vs Jokic clash in the middle of the offseason?
Official games might not start until the end of August but Bucks fans can watch the Antetokounbros play pretty soon! In fact, friendly games start as soon as August 9, when Greece will be facing Spain (19 pm local/ 11 am CT)! Greece will be facing Spain again a couple of days later on August 11, this time in Spain (time TBD). Between August 17-19 Greece will be taking part in the Acropolis Tournament against Poland, Georgia, and Turkey as part of their preparation. EuroBasket starts on September 1 and will last for two and a half weeks until September 18. So, get ready for a month full of Giannis and Thanasis!
World Cup Qualifiers
With a record of 3-1, Greece currently tops its group in the qualifiers. Against Serbia and Belgium for game day 7 and 8 respectively, the Greek team will be looking to improve its record and start the second round of the Qualifiers on a positive note. The top three teams of each group will qualify to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 which will take place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. If Greece beats Serbia and Belgium, its place in the World Cup will be pretty much secured.
What is EuroBasket?
While World Cup Qualifiers are important, EuroBasket remains the main event of the offseason. But, what is EuroBasket and how does it work?
EuroBasket is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the European zone within the International Basketball Federation. Historically, Giannis’ Greece has done very well in the tournament having won twice (in 1987 and 2005) while also having won a silver medal (in 1989) and two bronze medals (in 2009 and 1949).
EuroBasket 2022
This year’s tournament will be co-hosted by four countries. Games in the group stage will be held in the Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, and Italy. The knock-out phase will be played in Berlin, Germany.
Twenty-four countries are participating, divided in four groups of six teams. Greece’s group consists of Greece, Croatia, Ukraine, Great Britain, Estonia, and Italy, which is also the host of Group C. The top four teams of each Group will be progressing to the knock-out phase. Greece’s group will be paired with Group D in the first round of the knock-out phase, which makes another Giannis-Jokic duel very possible.
The knock-out phase consists of four rounds: The round of 16, the quarterfinals, the semifinals and, of course, the Final. The winner of every knock-out pair will be decided by one game. A game will also be played for the bronze medal between the losers of the semis. The full bracket of the knock-out phase can be found here.
Every betting company has its own ideas but the teams with the best odds to win the tournament currently are: Serbia, Greece, France, Slovenia, and Spain, with Serbia, France, and Greece ranking higher in most of the lists. EuroBasket 2022 is shaping up to be very exciting considering Giannis, Jokic, and Doncic, three of the top players worldwide, will be dueling for the title.
Other NBA stars will be present as well with the likes of Gobert, Dragic, Sabonis, Valanciunas, Fournier, Gallinari, Markkanen, Bogdanovic, Zubac, Schroeder, and the Wagner brothers standing out. Projected No. 1 pick of the 2023 NBA Draft Victor Wembanyama is also a part of France’s preliminary roster while Sandro Mamukelashvili is a member of Georgia’s squad, which means Sandro might be seeing some significant playing time as well.
Where to watch
In Europe, games will most likely be televised by each country’s national broadcaster (in Greece by ERT TV). There has not been an official announcement about major international broadcasters yet. ESPN covered the last major FIBA tournament in 2019 as well as the last two EuroBasket tournaments in 2015 and 2017 which means that there’s a good chance they are going to broadcast it again, but there’s nothing official yet.
Greece
Having analyzed the main structure of the tournament it’s now time to talk about the Greek squad. It feels like Greece has the most talented roster of the last few years. Having someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster is a massive help, but he’s not the only reason why Greeks feel confident about their squad.
The Hellenic Basketball Federation has managed to surround Giannis with very talented personnel on and off the court for the first time. That’s mainly because of the fact they managed to persuade a capable and qualified coach to manage the team. Dimitris Itoudis is a decorated coach, having won 7 Euroleague titles (2 of them as head coach), 6 Russian championships, and 2 Euroleague Coach of the Year awards, among other titles. The Greek Federation had been under a lot of criticism for their past choices but it finally feels like they made the right one. Bucks assistant Josh Oppenheimer has also joined the Greek coaching staff, which can be very helpful in exploiting all of Giannis’ strengths.
Former CSKA Moscow coach Itoudis announced his 23-man preliminary squad for the EuroBasket but only 12 players will make it to the final squad. It is very easy to guess the 11 of the 12 players already. These are: Nick Calathes, Kostas Sloukas, Tyler Dorsey, Giannoulis Larentzakis, Kostas Papanikolaou, Ioannis Papapetrou, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Dimitris Agravanis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kostas Antetokounmpo, and Georgios Papagiannis. This means that 12 players are fighting for the last spot, which makes it very difficult for Alex Antetokounmpo to be selected.
This might seem like a long list of random and difficult to pronounce names, so let’s meet some of the key players outside of Giannis and Thanasis.
Nick Calathes: He’s the assists leader in the history of the Euroleague. Some might remember him from his 2013-15 stint with the Memphis Grizzlies. Calathes is considered one of the best two-way guards in Europe while also having some very significant creating skills. He once more led the Euroleague in assists this season with 6.4 per game. At 33 years old he’s experienced enough to be one of the natural leaders of the Greek squad.
Kostas Sloukas: Sloukas is the leader of Olympiacos BC. This season he led them to the Euroleague Final Four and he was a key player to Olympiacos’ success in both the Euroleague and the Greek League. He had his best season of his career this year and he is also experienced enough to provide creating and shooting around Giannis as he shot around 54% behind the arc in the Euroleague this season.
Tyler Dorsey: Dorsey, a Greek-American, started his career with the Atlanta Hawks in 2017, when he was selected in the second round of the draft. In 2019 he moved to Memphis where he had his best NBA season averaging 9.8 points per game. In August 2019 he moved to Europe. Last season he played for Olympiacos BC where he had the best season of his career so far. He averaged around 14 points per game while shooting around 40% in the Euroleague and 43% in the Greek league. He adds much needed shooting and spacing. He recently signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
Georgios Papagiannis: He led the Euroleague in rebounds (8.2) and blocks (1.7) this season. With a height of 7’3” he is a true tower. He also developed a smooth mid-ranger which makes him tough to guard. Papagiannis was linked with the Bucks this offseason but Milwaukee chose to keep Serge Ibaka instead. Keep an eye for him because we might hear his name in the NBA in the near future.
These are some of the key players worth mentioning alongside Giannis since they’ll be sharing the court with him a lot. But let’s talk about Giannis himself now.
Getting the best out of Giannis
As with any team that includes Giannis Antetokounmpo, spacing should be the number one priority for the Greek team. Having guys like Sloukas and Dorsey definitely helps but there’s still a lot of work to be done in order to exploit Giannis’ true potential since the team lacks reliable shooting options. Last time Giannis played with the National Team was back in 2019. It might not seem like a lot of time but in reality it is.
Giannis is a completely different player compared to 2019. He has made huge steps in getting better with his outside scoring especially in the form of mid-range jumpers. Playing under FIBA rules (smaller courts, no gather steps allowed, etc.) will be a challenge for Giannis from which he can definitely benefit. He will lack space, freedom of movement, and he will also have one less foul to give. These are all things that can make him better. It will be a golden opportunity to see how his jumper translates in crunch time. Free throws are always going to be important but his post ups will also be crucial.
Giannis will be out of his comfort zone which can be very beneficial for his game. Finding ways to overcome adversity has always been crucial. Giannis will spend a lot of time at the 5 as well which will be intriguing to see.
To sum up, Bucks fans will have the chance to watch their leader play basketball against worthy opponents and a clash against Jokic, Doncic, or Gobert is very likely. Playing in such an environment will also be a nice opportunity to see how his game has developed in terms of creating his own shot and his consistency on his jumpers. During the preparation for the tournament, Bucks fans will also get the chance to watch some of Alex Antetokounmpo. Let the EuroBasket fun begin!