Why is Giannis Antetokounmpo Missing Bosnia & Herzegovina Clash? Greek Star’s EuroBasket Absence Will Worry Bucks

With EuroBasket 2025 progressing, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Team Greece is next set to face off against Team Bosnia. Jusuf Nurkic had already made clear he wasn’t afraid of taking on ‘The Greek Freak’, stating that “Generally, he’s sucked at those defenses the last few years he’s played in EuroBasket. But it’s not only him, so we will be ready”. As ‘BasketNews’ reporter Giorgos Kyriakidis highlighted, Nurkic’s eagerness to bring home what could be Bosnia’s second win in the tournament will be tested. However, given a recent revelation about Giannis Antetokounmpo, it feels that the test will be made a little easier.

According to reports, Giannis Antetokounmpo will reportedly miss his second EuroBasket 2025 game. ‘The Greek Freak’ has reportedly been scratched from the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina after reports of discomfort in his knee. Giannis had earlier missed Greece’s EuroBasket game against Cyprus, as he was put on rest for the first game of its back-to-back set. But in the other two matchups, the Bucks star has put up 27 and 31 points against Georgia and Italy, respectively. However, the Greek star has more to prove, as a unique record comes to the forefront.

Safe to say, Giannis, ESPN’s second-best pick of this EuroBasket ahead of Luka Doncic, had an eventful tenure for this 2025 tournament. While he did go viral for slapping his teammate on the head during a huddle, he has also been putting out impressive performances. The Milwaukee Bucks star has reportedly averaged 29.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in the first two outings. On top of that, he has also recorded 8 consecutive games with 25+ points at EuroBasket. If Giannis continues this, then he can beat the streak record of 19, earlier set by Greek legend Nikos Galis. To do that first, however, he will have to be healthy enough to participate in the matchups.

As of now, there are no clear reports to indicate how and when Giannis Antetokounmpo sustained the knee ailment. However, it serves as an indication that the current workload on the star isn’t fitting him well. This would be a shame, as a Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach had high expectations for the star.

Darvin Ham looked to use more of Giannis Antetokounmpo amid EuroBasket activity

The Milwaukee Bucks’ crew of head coach Doc Rivers, assistant coach Darvin Ham, and the team’s general manager, John Horst, had travelled to Europe to see ‘The Greek Freak’ in action. After the Greece-Italy matchup, Ham was interviewed, and the clip of the same was highlighted by the official X account of ‘BasketNews’.

During the session, Rivers was asked whether he sees Giannis in a different role in Greece as opposed with the Milwaukee Bucks. To this, he 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”. In a way, Giannis’s EuroBasket run showed what the Milwaukee Bucks have been missing.

“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,” said Darvin Ham. “And, 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”. According to a report by ‘Basket News’ journalist Giorgos Kyriakidis, had recently touched base on Team Greece’s head coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, reportedly designed a system for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The same ensured he would reportedly 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 had ‘The Greek Freak’ pull out all-court game performances. This meant grabbing boards as the main big, serving as the primary screener, etc. However, as NBA reporter Ryan Stano highlighted, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been vocal about not preferring to play center since it reportedly takes a physical toll on him.

Given the injury issue, it is evident that a toll has been taken now. On top of that, it has also informed the Milwaukee Bucks squad to be more careful of their star player when the 2025-26 NBA season begins.