“He plays with technique for sure but to bring this kind of energy every game means you are ready to sacrifice your body for the team” said Italian Basketball star Nicolo Melli recently in reference to Giannis Antetokounmpo. Having ended in 5th, 8th, and 5th position in the last 3 EuroBasket series,  Greece is looking to do better this time. This means relying more on ‘The Greek Freak’ and maximizing his potential.

Thanks to this strategy by the national team’s head coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, Team Greece won their first Eurobasket 2025 game against Italy. In fact, Spanoulis’s strategy made a Bucks assistant coach question whether the 2021 NBA champions really were making the best use of Giannis.

Darvin Ham was recently interviewed after the Greece-Italy matchup. The Bucks assistant coach had travelled to Europe, along with Bucks HC Doc Rivers and the Bucks’ general manager John Horst, to see ‘The Greek Freak’ in action. During the Q&A session, Rivers was asked whether he sees Giannis in a different role with Greece, as opposed to the Milwaukee Bucks. Ham replied, “Absolutely. Like it’s more team oriented, more sets and all of that here is different. We don’t, they don’t play as fast as we do in the NBA, but the NBA, his usage rate is off the charts. He’s always constantly has the ball in his hand. So, a little bit different role for him over there”.

Ham also added that “He does a great job to include his teammates. I can’t stress that enough. He does a great job including his teammates, and allowing things to happen and take place. And, you know, with us, he has to be Superman. So, but it’s good. It’s good. It’s good to see him be able to do both.”

‘Basket News’ journalist Giorgos Kyriakidis had recently touched base on Team Greece’s HC’s plans for EuroBasket 2025. Giannis had already missed half of Greece’s preparation games and, to accommodate for that, Vassilis Spanoulis reportedly designed a system that could function both with and without the star player in the short term, and integrate him on the fly when necessary. Additionally, Giannis was reportedly set to see a role change from when he represented Team Greece at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

With defensive star Georgios Papagiannis not a part of Team Greece for EuroBasket 2025, Spanoulias reportedly needed his star player to pull out all-court game performances. This means that Giannis was given the task of grabbing boards as the main big, serving as the primary screener, etc.

Despite Ham’s remarks about usage rate, Vassilis Spanoulis’s strategy can have issues for Giannis. According to NBA reporter Ryan Stano, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been vocal about not preferring to play center. After all, it reportedly takes a physical toll on him. Forbes reporter Brian Sampson said it best when he said that, “Playing Giannis at the five is like dessert—best enjoyed in moderation. But when done right, it’s a game-changer”.

With the Milwaukee Bucks’ first regular-season game still weeks away, plans have already begun to be formed on how to best use the 9x NBA All-Star. This isn’t a surprise, since Doc Rivers himself is taking a few leaves out of Giannis and co’s books.

Doc Rivers Reveals Taking Inspiration From Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Team Greece

Doc Rivers isn’t one to not admit when he takes inspiration from others to learn philosophies and inspiration for ideas that could be applied to his own NBA squad. From highlighting that he went into coaching because of Pat Riley, to admitting that he learned the philosophy of ‘UBUNTU’ from a woman named Stephanie Russell, the Bucks head coach absorbs knowledge and reportedly looks to apply it well. With EuroBasket 2025 providing a different format of competition, Rivers was willing to learn something new on his trip while also supporting Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Doc Rivers was also interviewed by ‘BasketNews’ after Team Greece’s win. He highlighted his thoughts on watching ‘The Greek Freak’ play by stating, “It’s great to see Giannis play obviously, and really just watch everybody play, and I’m in Cyprus, so it’s all good”. At the same time, Rivers sent his praise to Team Greece as a whole by stating, “I love watching the movement and how they play. I always steal plays, I watch it, and I take some of these plays back home and I run them. Yeah, I love all the movement, all the elbow action”.

According to reports, Doc Rivers plans to stay in Cyprus for three or four days. This will allow him to watch at least two games. Rivers believed that observing the movement, spacing, and team coordination is particularly valuable. Whether Doc Rivers comes back to the USA with new strategies in mind for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks squad is something that remains to be seen.