For a competitor like Giannis Antetokounmpo, the past few years must have been frustrating. 

Antetokounmpo has seen peers he has vanquished on his way to his breakthrough NBA championship advance and even win NBA titles at times at his expense. 

He’s also seen friends and teammates come and go, with rumors of his own exit ringing louder given how the Dallas Mavericks let go of Luka Doncic without putting much thought into the repercussions of it.

Then again, the 2025-2026 regular season is still around two months away and so Antetokounmpo can put his focus into other basketball pursuits, such as the one that concerns Greece’s national team. 

It has been more than 15 years since Greece won a medal in an international basketball competition and Antetokounmpo’s teams have never finished higher than fifth place, which happened twice in EuroBasket (2015 and 2022). 

Greece is entering EuroBasket 2025 in decent form as they swept the 2025 Acropolis International Basketball Tournament and have only lost twice in their buildup to EuroBasket 2025 so far this year. Antetokounmpo has been at the forefront of this, as he has imposed his will against anyone who stands in front of him. 

Even on the international stage, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who can stop Antetokounmpo one-on-one as he’s simply too strong for smaller defenders and too quick for bigger ones. While brute force continues to be a hallmark of his game, he continues to work on a perimeter game that may not be refined, but remains dangerous nonetheless. As the tallest and most experienced member of the team, Antetokounmpo is the anchor on defense, barking out instructions while swatting shots to the delight of the crowd. 

Given his recent play, it’s safe to say Antetokounmpo is playing inspired basketball and playing for the flag can do such. Thanks to Antetokounmpo alone, Greece is definitely a medal contender, but they will have to deal with the likes of FIBA Basketball World Cup champion Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, France, and Spain if they want to turn those medal aspirations into reality. Getting past the group stage is a given, but the knockout stages can present some intriguing challenges depending on their wins and losses, along with those of their peers. 

A podium finish will do wonders to Antetokounmpo’s headspace heading into the 2025-2026 season, but even just a solid individual EuroBasket 2025 campaign should give him motivation as he enters Year 13 in the NBA. The Milwaukee Bucks have retooled their roster by signing the likes of Myles Turner, Gary Harris, and Cole Anthony. There’s depth in the roster and it should inspire him to stay in the city he has called home. 

It’s obviously not about whether or not Giannis Antetokounmpo can still play, as he is in his prime right now. But the mental side of the game is equally as important and if Antetokounmpo can channel his EuroBasket 2025 campaign into something beneficial for his NBA season, then perhaps we can see another storybook ending in the cards.