Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has proven, time and time again, that he is one of the best basketball players in the world. He is an eight-time NBA All-Star, two-time MVP, NBA Champion, and Finals MVP. He also has an NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award under his belt. There has, however, been one honor that has eluded him up until this year.
With a victory over Luka Doncic and Slovenia last week, Giannis and the Greek National Team qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was the first time that Greece qualified for the Olympic Men’s Tournament since 2008. Now, Giannis and Greece will compete for their first ever Olympic medal in basketball.
If they are going to achieve that, though, they face one of the toughest challenges of Giannis’ basketball career.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Will Face a Gauntlet of Tough Teams in the 2024 Olympics
There are only 12 countries whose teams qualified for the 2024 Olympics. They have been divided into the following three groups:
Group A
- Canada
- Greece
- Spain
- Australia
Group B
- France
- Germany
- Japan
- Brazil
Group C
- Serbia
- South Sudan
- Puerto Rico
- United States of America
Group A, where Giannis and Greece will play, has been labeled as the “Group of Death” due to the high level of talent on all four of its teams.
The Canadian National Team is led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished second in NBA MVP voting this year while averaging 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. Giannis and the Greek National Team will face Canada on Saturday July 27 in their first game of Olympic competition.
Spain is led by guard Rudy Fernandez, who will be playing in his sixth Olympic Games. No other player has accomplished such a feat. The Spanish National Team recently won a Gold Medal at the 2022 EuroBasket Tournament.
Puerto Rico boasts former Wisconsin Badgers star Aleem Ford on its roster.
Milwaukee Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Viral Reaction to Making it to the 2024 Olympics
When the clock hit 0:00 in Greece’s win over Slovenia to clinch a berth in the Paris Olympics, the following video of Giannis went viral on social media:
Giannis emotional after qualifying for Olympics 🥹💙
He leads Greece to their first Olympics since 2008 🇬🇷
(via @FIBA)pic.twitter.com/eM31ZxPoL2
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 7, 2024
As seen, the moment and accomplishment meant a great deal to the Greek Freak, who showed similar emotion after winning the NBA Finals in 2021.
To make it even more special for Giannis, one of his younger brothers, Kostas Antetokounmpo, is also on the Greek National Team.
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