Greece head coach Vassilis Spanoulis confirmed on June 1 that Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will play for Greece in the 2024 Olympic Qualifiers. Twenty-four teams will compete in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament from July 2-7 in the cities of Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Valencia (Spain). All 24 teams are divided into four tournaments of eight teams. The winners of each of the four tournaments will qualify for this year's Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Antetokounmpo and Greece are scheduled to play in Group B of the Piraeus Tournament. Greece will play against the Dominican Republic on July 3 and Egypt on July 4. If Greece finishes first or second in Group B, it will advance to a best-of-one match against either Croatia, Slovenia, or New Zealand in the semifinals. Antetokounmpo has never played in the Olympics for Greece. The last time Greece participated in the Olympic Games in basketball was in the 2008 Beijing Games. Antetokounmpo last played for Greece at EuroBasket in 2022. The decision to play for Greece came after a disappointing 2023-24 season for the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Indiana Pacers in six games. Antetokounmpo did not play at all in the playoffs due to a calf injury he sustained in a game against the Boston Celtics on April 9. “In our opinion, it was not safe to go out because I was not able to run at full speed,” Antetokounmpo said the day after Milwaukee's season ended with a 120-98 Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers. “I was only able to run 30-40 percent. I still can't run at full speed. It will probably take days, weeks, months. I don't know how long it will take to get back to where I need to be.” The 2023-24 season was historic for the two-time MVP, as Antetokounmpo was named to the All-NBA First Team and became the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 points in a season while shooting 60 percent from the field.
Greece national team coach Vassilis Spanoulis confirmed on June 1 that Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will play for Greece in the 2024 Olympic qualifiers.
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Twenty-four teams will take part in the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament from July 2-7, competing in the cities of Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Valencia (Spain). All 24 teams will be split into four tournaments of eight teams each, and the winners of the four tournaments will qualify for this year's Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
Antetokounmpo and Greece will play in Group B at the Piraeus tournament. Greece will face the Dominican Republic on July 3 and Egypt on July 4. If Greece finishes first or second in Group B, it will advance to a best-of-one semifinal against either Croatia, Slovenia or New Zealand.
Antetokounmpo has never represented Greece at the Olympics. Greece last appeared in the Olympic Games in basketball at the Beijing Games in 2008. Antetokounmpo will last represent Greece at EuroBasket in 2022.
The decision to play for Greece came after a disappointing 2023-24 season with the Milwaukee Bucks, who were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Indiana Pacers in six games. Antetokounmpo did not play at all in the playoffs due to a calf injury he suffered in a game against the Boston Celtics on April 9.
“In our opinion, it wasn't safe for me to be there because I wasn't running full speed,” Antetokounmpo said the day after Milwaukee's season ended with a 120-98 Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers. “I was only running 30-40 percent. I'm still not running full speed. It's probably going to be days, weeks, months. I don't know how long it's going to take me to get back to where I need to be.”
The 2023-24 season was historic for the two-time MVP, as Antetokounmpo was named to the All-NBA First Team and became the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 points in a season while shooting 60 percent from the field.
