By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The writings were on the wall when coach Dimitris Itoudis took over the bench of the Greek national team earlier this year. One of the top modern European coaches took on the challenge to lead Greece, former Eurobasket champions, to old glories with a team build around none other than Giannis Antetokounmpo.
And the Greek Freak practically confirmed his presence via social media in the upcoming Eurobasket 2022.
Giannis, who is practicing all summer wearing the jersey of the Greek national team, made the same post on all his official social media that doesn’t leave any doubt, just one day after the unveiling of his image on an airplane of the official airline sponsor of the Greek basketball federation.
🔜🇬🇷🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/zvDyDHhqjv
— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) July 20, 2022
The 2021 NBA champion will be the center of the team while he’s entering the most mature era of his career and after the experience of the FIBA World Cup 2019, in which Greece missed the quarterfinals after a tie in the standings with the Czech Republic due to the points difference.
Just after the 2019 FIBA tournament, Giannis made his intentions clear at the Bucks training camp: “I’m mad and pissed but everything happens for a reason. You try to take good or bad, the experience from every competition you play and try to be better. So that when you’re on the same stage again, you know how to handle it. The Greek national team… we’re not done yet.”
Due to his presence, Greece is automatically considered a contender. It’s on Itoudis to find the way to make the most of Giannis’ presence despite a traditional lack of outside shooting in the Greek roster.
Because of the FIBA-NBA agreement which permits NBA players to spend only 28 days – including the official tournaments – for their national team, Giannis and Thanasis will join the rest of the team in mid-August.
And already all basketball fans have marked the 25th of August, when just days before the Eurobasket tipoff, Greece with Giannis will face on the road for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers Serbia which is expected to include reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.