“Sports are made to unite us, not divide us,” NBA stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Alperen Sengun wrote on a co-authored Instagram post.
When Turkey defeated Greece in last week’s FIBA EuroBasket 2025 semifinal, Turkish big man Alperen Sengun said in postgame comments that Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t a great passer.
“We just put Ercan [Osmani] on him and we helped as much we can,” the Houston Rockets star said postgame of his fellow NBA All-Star. “Ercan did a great job today. Of course, Giannis is one of the best players in the world. We just tried to help Ercan and think we did a good job. He’s not a great passer. He’s an amazing player but he’s not a great passer. We just tried to help, jump, and close the paint.”
Antetokounmpo averaged a career-high 6.5 assists per game last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, though obviously some of those reads were simplified due to his incredible downhill force and rim pressure, which frequently collapses defenses.
Regardless of accuracy or intent, that initial critique led to a brief war of words on social media, which eventually ignited something of an international firestorm between the fan bases.
As for the merits of the quote that started it all, Sengun found himself facing criticism from many sources, including Greece coach Vassilis Spanoulis. The “Greek Freek” weighed in himself, too:
Go see my clips on YouTube and then come back and ask me if I’m a good passer or not.
On Tuesday, with the tournament now over, the two seemingly buried the hatchet and reconciled — and they hope their respective fans will, as well.
In an Instagram post co-authored by the two players (with an image of them hugging), the caption reads:
We play for the love of our countries. We play for the love of game. We play with respect. We always remember sports are made to unite us, not divide us.
In a story on his personal account, Sengun added:
My post after (the) Greece game was a communication mistake. I have great respect for Greek people. No offense was ever intended.
With that, any feud appears to be over. But just in case it isn’t, the first Rockets-Bucks game of the 2025-26 NBA season is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 9, in Milwaukee.
Led by Sengun and Antetokounmpo, Turkey and Greece ultimately finished in second place and third place, respectively. Both were among the best-ever finishes for their countries, and each NBA star finished on the all-EuroBasket tournament team.
Giannis and Şengün just shared posts on Instagram about each other:
Şengün: “My post after Greece game was a communication mistake. I have great respect for Greek people. No offense was ever intended.”
Giannis:“We play for the love of our countries. We play for the love of… pic.twitter.com/EdyR7FDExV
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) September 16, 2025