Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo opened EuroBasket with an emphatic performance in Greece's 75-66 win over Italy. This feeling of the two-time MVP leading his team to victory is all too familiar to Bucks fans. The team is more than happy with Giannis representing his nation, with Doc Rivers, Darvin Ham, and Jon Horst all watching from the stands in Limassol, Cyprus.
Giannis led Greece with 31 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, making 14-of-20 (70 percent) shots from the field and 3-of-4 (75 percent) from the free throw line.
Giannis in MVP form in front of key Bucks members
Greece knows Giannis and how far he can carry them, but his teammates are always on hand and follow their superstar's lead. In the two warmup games Giannis played before the tournament, he showed that despite a few months off the court, that didn't matter, and he is already building up towards the 2025-26 NBA season.
It didn't take Giannis long to set his stall out in the victory in front of the huge presence of Greek fans.
One area of his game that has improved in particular over the last season is Giannis' mid-range shot. On multiple occasions in Thursday's victory, he showed his willingness to pull up from the mid-range and has been making them consistently.
Former New Orleans Pelican Nicolo Melli couldn't hang with Giannis, finding himself on the receiving end of two dunks and a one-legged fadeaway from the elbow.
The second half was very much the same for the Italians. They just had no answer for Giannis, which opened the game up for his teammates. A special moment in the third quarter saw Kostas Antetokounmpo block one off the glass, leading to Giannis fighting through contact on the offensive end for another dunk.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo made a huge 3-pointer late in the fourth to stretch the lead to 10, having been dared to shoot by his opponents. Italy kept on fighting and closed the gap to five points with less than 40 seconds to play.
Greece drew up a play, with Giannis faking a ball screen before diving to the basket to dunk past former Buck Danilo Gallinari. The icing on the cake was Melli trying to swipe down and foul Giannis, but he still couldn't stop the star as he opened the game up to nine points with five seconds to play.
This sight is so familiar to Bucks fans, with the dominance of the Greek Freak on full display. There is a great opportunity for Giannis to pick up his third MVP award this coming season, with all the doubts around Milwaukee and their offseason moves. This performance was a taste of why.
For both Greece and the Bucks, all attention will go straight to him, and he can deal with it. Being written off is something Giannis has always dealt with, and in a depleted, open Eastern Conference, he could put up some wild stat lines and help his team silence the critics.
When Giannis played in the Olympics in 2024, he went into them off an injury and used them to ramp up. This year's EuroBasket will allow him to really get into his full flow, with the NBA preseason starting less than a month after the conclusion of Europe's premier basketball competition.
Greece's second game of the group phase is against Group C hosts Cyprus, with tip-off around 10:15 CDT.