Bucks Finally Give In as Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Coach Confirms Plans to End Long Wait

For the past few weeks, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence from the Greek national team has been the biggest question among basketball fans. The Milwaukee Bucks superstar, who’s not suffering from any injuries, made huge waves after not playing in any of Hellas’ first four prep games. Now, as the team heads toward their next game against Kristaps Porzingis-led Latvia, everyone wants to know if they’ll see the Greek Freak make his summer debut, or will it be yet another disappointment?

Well, you guys can take a sigh of relief because, according to reports, Giannis Antetokounmpo is finally set to play in his first EuroBasket 2025 preparation game next week when Greece faces Latvia. This is huge news for the fans who have been waiting to see the Greek superstar in action for weeks now. Earlier, it was reported that this hold up was caused due to an unresolved insurance issue between the Greek Basketball Federation and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Yes, you read that right! Allegedly, Giannis missed each of the first four friendly bouts due to an issue between his NBA franchise and the national team. As we all know, the 30-year-old’s future has remained in the air for much of the offseason. In fact, there’s still no final confirmation that we’ll see Antetokounmpo play for the Bucks once the season commences later this year. This was the reason why everything started in the first place.

A local news outlet reported that Milwaukee was unsure about the forward’s future and which caused a holdup in insurance payments from the Greek Federation. “Perhaps because the Bucks are waiting to see whether the much-talked-about trade will happen or if Giannis will stay in Milwaukee. Otherwise, the agreement will have to be made with his next team.” SDNA reported. Nonetheless, it seems like the Bucks have finally given in, with Giannis Antetokounmpo gearing up to take the floor against Latvia on 20th August.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo all set to enter the road to EuroBasket 2025, Greece’s head coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, provided a significant update, as he indicated that the Greek Freak would soon be joining the team and start his training ahead of their group stage campaign. “He will be fine. On Saturday, he will start training with us normally, which was our plan. He is already working with us on the 5-0,” he said. “He already had a training session with contact with some guys from our team. On Saturday, he will start training normally.”

This statement from Spanoulis further boosts the reports of Giannis Antetokounmpo making his summer debut against Kristaps Porzingis and the rest of the Latvian squad. So, what can the fans expect with the Hellas finally unleashing the Greek Freak on the court?

What can the fans expect from Greece in EuroBasket 2025?

So far, it has been a mixed bag of results for Greece without its ace up its sleeve. While they did manage to win against the likes of Belgium and, more recently, against Montenegro, Hellas struggled against quality opposition such as Serbia and Israel. So, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that Greece has missed Giannis Antetokounmpo in its first four preparation games. But the question is, how much will Hellas improve once the Greek Freak comes back into the starting five?

Well, to be honest, a lot. That’s because Coach Spanoulis’ entire fast-paced, defense-heavy game plan is structured around Giannis. So, with him coming back in the mix, Greece will, without a doubt, be a much-improved team. You don’t have to take our word for it; Antetokounmpo’s insane stat line speaks for itself. Back in EuroBasket 2022, where Greece finished 5th, the Milwaukee Bucks superstar was the backbone of the team, averaging 29.3 points along with 8.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

This alone should give you an idea of how crucial Giannis’ presence is for his national team. As for how far this Greek team can go in EuroBasket 2025? A lot will depend on how they tip off their campaign against Italy in the group stage on 28th August, followed by other great matchups. While they have a competitive group, with Giannis Antetokounmpo on their side, Hellas should be able to march into the playoffs, from where it will be worth watching how far the Greek Freak can take his nation.