Giannis Antetokounmpo is already a two-time NBA MVP, a champion (with an NBA Finals MVP trophy to go along with it) and, at 27, just entering his prime. Over the next 10 days in Berlin, he is now seeking to win his first big international tournament with Greece at EuroBasket 2022.
Heading into Thursday's group phase finale against Estonia (which has already been eliminated from advancing to the next round), Antetokounmpo has dominated the competition so far. He is the tournament's leading scorer and has helped Greece win Group C in decisive fashion.
The real fun begins Saturday, when the 16-nation, single-elimination bracket will be set and Greece will be only four wins away from one of the most coveted prizes international hoops has to offer: the gold medal at EuroBasket.
Despite the presence of the most dominant figure in basketball, it won't be easy for Greece. This is arguably the deepest field this tournament has ever seen, and there are two other major NBA superstars headed to the German capital trying to do the same thing.
Luka Doncic and Slovenia are the defending champions, having won gold in Istanbul in 2017. They also just won the so-called "group of death" in Cologne and are a real threat to defend their crown this year in Berlin.
Meanwhile, Serbia, led by two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, is looking to avenge its loss to Slovenia in 2017. Jokic & Co. entered this tourney as slight favorites, and they have done nothing to change that status, going undefeated in group play in Prague.
But Greece will not go down quietly. Antetokounmpo is cementing his status as the best player in the world, playing at this high of a level the first time on the international stage. Despite a couple of red flags that could complicate things in the next round, Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Greek squad need to be taken seriously as a threat to take home the gold.
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The dominance of Giannis
Much like he has at multiple times over the past few NBA seasons, Antetokounmpo has looked unstoppable so far this summer, dominating on both ends of the court in wins over Croatia, Italy and Ukraine.
Antetokounmpo played only 27 minutes in Tuesday's triumph over Ukraine and took just 18 shots but still scored 41 points -- the most by any EuroBasket player since Dirk Nowitzki scored 43 for Germany in 2001 until Doncic dropped 47 on France a day later. Ukraine arrived at that game undefeated but left like so many other teams over the past few years: realizing it had no answers for the most powerful interior force in the sport right now.
With pole position in Group C on the line, Antetokounmpo made 13 of 16 2-point tries and 15 of his 18 free throws -- a hyper-efficient performance reminiscent of his epic Game 6 closeout victory in the 2021 NBA Finals. And the free throw shooting was not a one-time aberration. Through three games in group play, Antetokounmpo has made 84% of his 38 free throws -- something that should get Milwaukee Bucks fans excited (and frighten the rest of the NBA).
No team or player at EuroBasket has been able to keep Antetokounmpo away from the rim, off the boards or away from the free throw line. The comparison has been made many times before, but with that big 34 on his Greek jersey, he really does evoke Shaquille O'Neal in ways we haven't seen since the Diesel was at his absolute apex in Los Angeles, leading the Lakers to three consecutive championships with his unstoppable physicality.
A perfect example of the "Shaq Effect" came as the Greeks were clinging to a two-point lead with less than a minute remaining in their opening game against a talented Croatia side last week.
Antetokounmpo, playing off the ball around the right block, used an arm bar to separate himself from Mario Hezonja, leapt straight up to haul in a lob pass from Nick Calathes and finished the play with a reverse slam to give Greece a two-possession lead in crunch time. It came as part of a sequence when he blocked two shots and scored five points in less than a minute -- a complete takeover on both ends of the court that slammed the door shut on a critical victory.
Even when defenses are able to slow down Antetokounmpo in the post, he has found other ways to win possessions against these relatively undersized frontcourts. His presence as the scariest offensive rebounder in the field also looms large. Multiple times against both Italy and Croatia, he quickly turned his teammates' errant jumpers into stanchion-rattling slam dunks that simultaneously fired up his squad and deflated the opposition.
Entering Thursday's action, Antetokounmpo was averaging a tournament-leading 31.0 points per game. Only one player in EuroBasket history -- which dates to 1935 -- has averaged at least 30 points per game in a single tournament: legendary Greek guard Nikos Galis, who did it four times. Galis was the driving force behind Greece's gold-medal run in 1987, and Antetokounmpo could be having a similar run this year.
What could derail Greece
As good as Antetokounmpo has been, two big questions loom large for Greece as it tries to win its first EuroBasket gold medal since 2005.
The first is whether this team has enough depth beyond Antetokounmpo to win four consecutive elimination games against the most complete teams on the continent?
While other top contenders such as Slovenia and Serbia are also led by NBA superstars, they are loaded with players who have already demonstrated they can help their teams win with solid play in big moments. Comparatively, the Greek roster is unproven, but early results in this tournament have been encouraging.
When Antetokounmpo sat out Monday's game against Great Britain with discomfort in his knee, the rest of the Greek rotation rose to the occasion. Kostas Sloukas and Georgios Papagiannis combined to score 38 points, as the Greek team pulled away in the second half.
Then in an important game versus Ukraine on Tuesday, when Antetokounmpo went to the bench for his normal breather late in the third quarter, his teammates didn't just hold the line; they expanded the lead, putting the game out of reach while Antetokounmpo rested and helping Greece clinch the top seed from its group in the process.
The other big question is whether Greece will be able to execute an efficient offense in late-game situations? It opened up big leads against both Croatia and Italy before sputtering down the stretch and nearly blowing both contests. Antetokounmpo might be the best player in the world, but he still needs other on-ball teammates to help create offense in intense half-court situations. After all, he wouldn't be an NBA champion without Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, who both turned out multiple clutch performances in key moments of Milwaukee's 2021 title run.
But to paraphrase Rick Pitino, those guys aren't walking through that door.
Again, the early returns from pool play are encouraging. Tyler Dorsey, who recently signed a two-way deal with the Dallas Mavericks, has been one of the breakout players of EuroBasket. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard, who previously played 104 NBA games over two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies, is averaging an efficient 17 points per game and has been Greece's best perimeter scorer, hitting both unassisted pull-ups and catch-and-shoot 3s at high levels.
Meanwhile, Calathes, the veteran point guard who now plays professionally for Fenerbahçe Beko in Turkey, has provided Greece with a reliable shot-creator. He is averaging 5.5 assists against just one turnover in 25 minutes per game so far.
One thing working in Greece's favor is the knockout phase draw. Slovenia's win against France on Wednesday put it on the opposite side of the bracket from Antetokounmpo & Co., and Serbia will end up there, as well, if it beats Poland on Thursday. That means the earliest Greece could face either Doncic or Jokic would be in the gold-medal game.
Still, Greece has to get that far first before worrying about how to beat those teams, and it hasn't managed that since winning gold in 2005. (The 2009 team fell one game short, losing in the semifinals before taking home bronze.) And while Greece has been more well-rounded than anticipated going into the tournament, the pressure still falls on the broad shoulders of Antetokounmpo, the biggest star the nation has ever produced.
No player has ever won an NBA MVP, an NBA Finals MVP and a EuroBasket crown. If Antetokounmpo plays as well as he has so far over the next 10 days, that stat will change, which will only further cement the claim that the forward from Athens is the best basketball player on Earth right now.