Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo dominates for Greece, but tough task awaits

The Milwaukee Bucks' season was derailed by the injury Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered against the Boston Celtics in early April.

Following an MRI scan and further assessments, Giannis was diagnosed with a strained soleus and, thankfully, no damage to his Achilles tendon. Unfortunately, he didn't recover in time for the NBA Playoffs but has been back in action for the Greece National Team in their Olympic Qualifying games.

April 9 was the last time we had seen Giannis in action, so this has been a long time coming. In Greece's 109-82 win over the Dominican Republic, it was like Giannis had never left. He was dominant from start to finish, looking in brilliant shape, considering it has been almost three months without any basketball for him.

Calf injuries can be nagging and cause longer periods on the sidelines than expected, so it is brilliant to see the two-time MVP back in action for his national team.

Giannis dominates in emphatic victory for Greece

Alongside his brother Kostas, Giannis and his teammates put on a show as they were rampant against the Dominican Republic. The level of play at the Olympic Qualifiers is still high and not to be taken lightly, with many current and former NBA players and EuroLeague stars littered throughout the rosters.

Giannis, however, is an NBA Champion and one of the greatest to ever do it, so he made it look easy. In 18 minutes on the court, he was flawless from the field, scoring 32 points by making all 11 of his shots and hitting the only three he took. Remember, this is his first game in three months, too.

He opened the scoring with a dunk; it was like he had never been away from the game. Greece's head coach Vassilis Spanoulis was, of course, taking precautions around his star player with the minutes restriction, but he was so dominant that his team didn't need him for any longer than that.

There were multiple highlights throughout of alley-oops and dunks, but one of the standouts is a typical two-way play of his. He spikes the ball away before flying down court, where he is found by Nick Calathes to fight his way through the contact and lay the ball up to score.

On Thursday, July 4, Greece took on Egypt, but Giannis sat out and watched on as his team ran out 93-71 winners. They now find themselves in the semi-final of the Olympic Qualifiers and will take on Luka Doncic and Slovenia in a win-or-go-home game. One of the two biggest stars in Europe and the NBA will not be going to Paris this summer for a shot at winning an Olympic medal.

This game will take place on Saturday July 6, and tip-off is at 9:30am CST.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis this off-season as we hope to see Giannis lead his team at the Olympics.