Giannis ready for next challenge with the Ethniki
Despite not having suited up for the Greek National Team since 2016, Giannis Antetokounmpo is targeting a return to the Ethniki in the near future…
As Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to make headlines in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks, there is one recurring conversation back home in Greece that the 23-year-old is looking to quash.
Many basketball fans in Greece, particularly those of the Greek National Team, believe that Antetokounmpo will follow in the footsteps of many European-born NBA players and turn his back on the National Team.
While Antetokounmpo – who has made 38 appearances for the Ethniki to date but none since 2016 – continues to be supported by Greek basketball fans around the globe, there remains a slight pessimism that the Sepolia native will never suit-up for Greece again.
Although his last appearance for the Ethniki ended in disappointed as Greece failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the criticism Antetokounmpo receives has nothing to do with his performances for the Ethniki.
Even though Antetokounmpo’s current legacy with the Ethniki is a third-place finish at the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Turin and subsequent failure to qualify for Rio 2016, that is still not the main reason why the former Filathlitikos prospect encounters the ire of Greek basketball fans.
Well, basketball-mad Greece would certainly be more forgiving if Antetokounmpo had already delivered Greece a trophy or gold medal of some kind on the international stage since he made his debut in 2013.
Instead, the main reason Antetokounmpo has alienated fans of the Ethniki is due to last summer’s showdown between the Bucks and the Hellenic Basketball Federation (EOK). Although Antetokounmpo was destined to join to the National Team ranks at EuroBasket 2017, an injury – which the EOK suggests was fabricated – sidelined Antetokounmpo before the tournament even started. Unable to replace the talent Antetokounmpo brings to the Ethniki, Greece would end up finishing eighth following a loss to Russia in the quarterfinals.
A year removed from the bad blood between the EOK and the Bucks, Antetokounmpo is trying to change the dialogue surrounding his commitment to play for the Ethniki.
In a recent interview with the Greek press, Antetokounmpo made a commitment to Greek basketball fans by declaring he will return to action with the Ethniki in 2019 – provided he is healthy, of course.
“I spoke with my coach (Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer) and I would love to play,” Antetokounmpo told reporters during his recent visit to Greece.
Budenholzer, who took over the Milwaukee coaching job from interim bench boss Joe Prunty at the end of the season, has experience with international players playing abroad over the NBA offseason from his time in Atlanta when Dennis Schröder represented Germany in 2015 and 2017.
Greece recently wrapped-up the first round of qualifying for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China with a 6-0 record, which didn’t go unnoticed by Antetokounmpo.
“Not now, because everything is going great for the team; they’re winning. But if everything goes well and there are no injuries, I will be ready for the World Cup,” Antetokounmpo declared.
Greece’s road to the final tournament in China resumes in September when the Ethniki begin the second round of qualifying with home-and-away fixtures against Germany, Georgia, and Serbia.
While Antetokounmpo won’t be the only National Team regular absent for most of the qualifying campaign due to the ongoing scheduling conflict between the EuroLeague and FIBA, the Greek Freak is certainly the most notable and most talked about absentee as Greece targets an eighth straight appearance in the final tournament.
“People in Greece believe I will never play for the Ethniki again, but I know what will happen and I hope this will happen,” a determined Antetokounmpo concluded.
For now, fans of the Ethniki will need to hope that the National Team lives up to their end of the bargain by successfully qualifying for the World Cup before they can pass judgement on Antetokounmpo’s allegiance to the Ethniki.
