Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the most decorated players in professional basketball. The Greek Freak brought the Milwaukee Bucks a championship in 2021 and became one of only three players to win an MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
However, for Giannis, all of those pale in comparison to Greece’s bronze medal finish at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025.
Advertisement
“We did it. This is one of the biggest accomplishments I ever had as an athlete,” an emotional Giannis said in a postgame interview. “I know I’ve won an NBA championship, but there’s no feeling like representing your national team, representing 12 million people that breathed and lived this national team.”
“So, this is probably the greatest accomplishment I’ve ever accomplished so far in my life,” he added.
Giannis was back in his element
Antetokounmpo bounced back from a disappointing 12-point performance in a semifinal loss against Turkey. Somehow, Ercan Osmani limited Giannis to an inefficient outing, which was far and few between for him in the international competition.
Advertisement
Against Finland, however, he was back to his old self. Giannis scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds while dishing out six assists in the process. Antetokounmpo also added two blocks and made nine of his 11 attempts from the floor.
However, Antetokounmpo and the Greeks were not the only ones playing with national pride. Although the Finns were playing catch-up all game, as they were behind by 14 at the end of the first half and around 11 with around two minutes to play, they refused to go down without a fight.
Advertisement
The Susijengi made it interesting by making it a three-point game, 90-87. Elias Vantonen got fouled from beyond the arc with 5.7 seconds left to give the Finns a chance to knot the contest up. However, he missed his third free throw to deny the Nordic country a possible shot at overtime.
Fittingly, Anteokounmpo put the game away by canning his two freebies on the other end for the final score, 92-89.
Greece’s podium drought is done
With their exciting win over Finland, Greece landed on the EuroBasket podium for the first time since 2009. Back then, their current national team head coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, led the Greeks to a razor-thin, 57-56 victory over Slovenia.
Advertisement
Individually, this was Antetokounmpo’s first medal on the international stage after representing Greece in three EuroBasket tournaments, two FIBA World Championships, and one Olympic Games. The country finished fifth overall in the 2015 and 2022 EuroBasket, and landed in eighth place in Paris last year.
As Giannis mentioned, winning something for his country feels very different than capturing an NBA championship. He knows for a fact that what the 2025 squad accomplished will cause a domino effect and inspire the next wave of Greek basketball talents.
“When you are able to make 12 million Greeks happy, and you are able to inspire the next generation – like (the 2005 EuroBasket winners) inspired us from the previous generation in 1987 that inspired them. This is the biggest thing ever,”Antetokounmpo said. “There’s a kid right now watching this on TV who is going to be very very happy that maybe one day that he can win a medal with the national team.”
Advertisement
At this stage of his career, Giannis is not taking any national team success for granted. A bronze in 2025 may not be the end, but he knows it is not the beginning either.
Related: “Dominant” – Tyler Dorsey’s simple explanation on playing with Giannis for Greece
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.