Bogdan Bogdanovic shared some words of wisdom with Giannis Antetokounmpo after Greece seized the EuroBasket bronze medal: he and the team should celebrate the medal as if they had won the championship.
In most tournaments, the ones that end up in the final game, and of course, the winners are the only ones remembered. But that did not matter for Antetokounmpo, who described the bronze finish as the “greatest accomplishment” in his life.
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Bogdanovic, who has plenty of international experience and has undoubtedly made a name for himself on the FIBA stage, has no shame in having the Greek Freak’s outlook toward Greece’s placement. In fact, he implored them to keep beaming with pride.
The Serbian shooting guard took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate Giannis and his “Orthodox Brothers” for the victory.
“Sometimes it shines like gold,” Bogdanovic wrote. “Congrats to our orthodox brothers .Respect.”
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Bronze ‘shined like gold’ for Giannis
After a tough semifinal loss to Turkey, Greece decided that it was not leaving home empty-handed in the bronze-medal game.
The Greeks defeated the Lauri Markannen-led Finland, 92-89, leading from start to finish to take home the country’s first EuroBasket medal since 2009. This brings Greece’s medal tally up to six at the tournament, with a 2-1-3 gold-silver-bronze medal tally.
Antetokounmpo led the charge as he posted a double-double of 30 points and 17 rebounds on top of six assists.
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After the game, an emotional Giannis talked to the media, sharing his pride in representing his home country. He said this EuroBasket bronze outweighs his biggest NBA achievements, including the title and the MVP trophy.
“This is probably one of the biggest accomplishments that I’ve ever accomplished as an athlete,” the Milwaukee Bucks superstar said.
“I know I’ve won an NBA championship, but there’s no feeling like representing your national team and representing 12 million people that breathe and live this national team. This is probably the greatest accomplishment so far in my life.”
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The Serbians once celebrated like champions
Bogdanovic and the Serbians know a thing or two about celebration. During the 2024 Olympics in Paris, it did not matter that they placed third; they were already thankful for making it to the podium.
During the award ceremony at the Olympics, the Serbians were visibly intoxicated when they went up to the podium to accept the bronze medal, with Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic barely being able to stand on his feet.
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However, Serbia did not get the chance to celebrate like that at EuroBasket 2025.
Serbia was expected to make a deep run in the tournament because of Jokic’s leadership and a solid supporting cast around him. But the Finns shocked the world by eliminating Serbia. In the 2022 edition, the Serbs also exited early, that time from Italy’s hands.
After the stunner, Jokic commented on Finland’s performance, praising the physicality it showed against his countrymen. He also acknowledged his shortcomings, as he failed to lead by example to his teammates.
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“They played a great game. From the start we didn’t come ready. I just wasn’t ready from the jump,” he said. “Their 20 offensive rebounds were just unacceptable. We knew what they were doing, we prepared well, we watched film, still they managed to just better and more physical than us.”
After everything, the Serbians have moved forward, and Germany has been crowned a new EuroBasket champion.
Antetokounmpo will eventually return to his NBA duties. But in the meantime, he and his brothers will follow Bogdanovic’s advice and celebrate Greece’s bronze medal finish like there is no tomorrow because, for them, the medal does shine like gold.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 15, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.