By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Before the 74th annual NBA All-Star Game, Giannis Antetokounmpo went into the new format and possible tweaks for further improvement of the annual meeting of the best players of the league based in North America.
On Sunday, the Freak did not play in Chase Center due to a left calf strain.
“I would love that,” he welcomed an idea of players from the United States facing players from the rest of the world in the All-Star Game, “I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format.”
“I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete, like having Shai, Jokic, Luka, Wemby, Towns, Sengun. Obviously, I’m missing some guys that I cannot think of from the top of my head. Going against the best U.S. players, I think it would be fun,” he added.
“It would be fun,” he later replied to a question about possibly holding the All-Star Game overseas, “Having a game in the UK or a game in Paris. Or having a game in Greece, obviously is a small country, but why not. Having a game in China, an All-Star Game in China, and all the stars go there for a weekend and play the game.”
Rewind to focusing and putting in the extra effort in the All-Star Game. When available, the Greek international star was certainly on board but seemingly a loud exception compared to most remaining players.
“You cannot force anybody to play hard if he doesn’t want to. For me, when I come to this weekend, I come to compete against the best. I take my pregame nap. I get my treatment the night before. I don’t go out. I have my pregame meal. I treat it like a game because I want to give my “A” game against the best players in the world,” he said, “Some other players, which don’t get me wrong, you can go about your day and your routine any way you want. Some people just want to get out of here.”
“Going back to the U.S. versus the World, that would be an exciting format. I feel like that would make people play hard,” reiterated the 30-year-old big of the Milwaukee Bucks.
“EuroLeague is an incredible league”
Besides discussing the All-Star Game and potential adjustments, Giannis went into the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, the top-tier club continental competition in Europe.
“I feel like EuroLeague is an incredible league. Very, very talented. Probably the top two, three, four teams in the EuroLeague, they are NBA teams. Let’s say the team that my brother played for, Panathinaikos, they had like nine NBAers,” he mentioned, “I enjoy watching EuroLeague basketball more than I enjoy watching NBA basketball, but the competition level is not the same. The best teams here, like Denver, OKC, Boston, would destroy a lot of EuroLeague teams.”
“If you played with FIBA rules, maybe some teams have a chance,” he furthered on comparing NBA and EuroLeague teams, “But then you can switch it and say if you play with NBA rules, none of those teams have a chance.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo repping #EuroLeague in the #NBAAllStar
“Euroleague is an incredible league, very, very talented. Probably the top 2-4 teams are like NBA teams. I enjoy watching Euroleague basketball more than I enjoy NBA…” pic.twitter.com/78mWD5sGTp
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) February 17, 2025