Giannis Antetokounmpo sends strong message after Greece secures Paris ticket

Giannis Antetokounmpo will now compete in the Olympics for the first time. The Greek secured his team’s qualification after scoring 23 points to help Greece beat Croatia 80-69 on Sunday in one of the four finals of the Olympic qualifying tournament. These tournaments determine the final spots among the 12 teams competing in the Paris Games.

Antetokounmpo published on his social networks “I have never cheated in the game. See you in Paris 🙏,” he said, helping Greece to its first Olympic appearance since 2008. The 29-year-old forward celebrated twice on Sunday, as he was also awarded the TISSOT MVP of the FIBA ​​Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Greece.

Adding this MVP award to his illustrious career, he can now boast a remarkable list of accomplishments, including an NBA championship, NBA Finals MVP, two-time NBA MVP, FIBA ​​EuroBasket 2022 top scorer and now, among his many accolades, an Olympian.

Giannis Antetokounmpo in the national team

Giannis played for Greece in the 2016 Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Turin, where his team suffered a loss to the Croatian national team. The Greeks were led by Antetokounmpo, then 22, who had just completed his third season in the NBA. Giannis struggled with his shooting, shooting 3-of-14 from the field, scoring 9 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in a 61-66 loss for his team.

Antetokounmpo, born in Athens to Nigerian immigrant parents, has been a fixture on the Greek national team for years.

As Greece faces historic challenges in international competition, the Milwaukee Bucks star was visibly emotional on the court, finally realizing his dream of traveling to Paris later this month.

Antetokounmpo’s performance at the Olympic qualifying tournament

Giannis scored 32 points in his first game of the event, making all 11 of his shots against the Dominican Republic. He then opted out of the game against Egypt to give himself more time to recover before the semifinals.

Against Luka Doncic and Slovenia, Antetokounmpo contributed 13 points in just 21 minutes of play, with Greece +31 while he was on the court.

In the final against Croatia, Antetokounmpo had to deal with the imposing presence of Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac, but still managed to score 23 points while grabbing 8 rebounds and delivering 3 assists in 29 minutes of play.

Georgios Papagiannis contributed 19 points for Greece, with Nick Calathes adding 14 points.

Zubac was the top scorer for Croatia with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Mateo Dreznjak and Mario Hezonja each scored 15 points, while Dario Saric added 14 points.

Greece at the Olympic Games

Greece will play in Group A of the Paris Games, where they will face Australia, Canada and either Spain or the Bahamas in the first phase.

The United States, the reigning four-time gold medallists, as well as France, Germany, Japan, Serbia, South Sudan, Canada and Australia have already confirmed their presence in Paris. France secured its place as host nation, while the other seven teams qualified through their performances at last summer’s World Cup.

After the World Cup, 24 teams competed for the final four spots in qualifying that began last week. Brazil clinched the top spot on Sunday, followed by Greece and Spain.

Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points and 11.5 rebounds per game last season with the Bucks. However, the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year, despite the addition of Damian Lillard for the season.