Giannis Antetokounmpo has already had himself one heck of a basketball career. He has won an NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks, and he has been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player on two separate occasions. But it's in the 2024 Paris Olympics where Antetokounmpo feels as though he has achieved the “biggest honor” of his life to this point.
Speaking with reporters following Greece's all-important 77-71 win over Australia, Antetokounmpo remembered his father and how proud his dad would have been of him had he seen him be his nation's flag-bearer for the 2024 Olympic games.
“[Being Greece's flag-bearer is] the biggest honor of my life. I know my father is watching from heaven and dancing about this,” Antetokounmpo said, per Ben Golliver of the Washington Post.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's life would have been different had it not been for the risky sacrifice his father, Charles, took way back in the day. The Antetokounmpo family patriarch, who passed away in 2017 due to a heart attack, as well as Giannis' mother, Veronica, decided to move from Nigeria to Greece back in 1991 in hopes of giving their children a much better life.
Born in 1994, living in Greece was all Antetokounmpo knew before the Bucks drafted him in 2013. Now, he has come quite a long way. Antetokounmpo is now one of the most famous Greek athletes of all time, and he should have a few more Olympic games under his belt since he's only 29 years of age.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece stay alive in the hunt for a quarterfinals spot
Circumstances looked dire for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece after they lost their first two games of the group stage against Canada and Spain. Nonetheless, Greece still had a shot, no matter how unlikely, to make it to the final eight of the 2024 Paris Olympics, provided that they take care of business against Australia on Friday morning.
That is exactly what Greece did. Buoyed by a dominant second quarter, Greece took a 77-71 win over the Aussies, keeping themselves in the hunt for a quarterfinals spot. They need other results to go their way, however, for them to advance to the quarterfinals.
Greece is locked into the third spot in Group A after their win over Australia, regardless of the result in the ongoing Spain versus Canada matchup. If Canada beats Spain, there will be a three-way tie between Greece, Australia, and Spain, with the Spaniards bowing out of the competition by virtue of point differential. If Spain beats Canada, Greece wins third place over Australia by virtue of winning the head-to-head.
Greece's quarterfinals hopes will hinge on the results of Serbia's clash against South Sudan. Serbia needs to beat South Sudan by at least three points or South Sudan defeats Serbia by 24 points or more so the Greeks could quality for the quarterfinals as the second third-best group stage team among the competing nations.
A lot changed for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece with that all-important win over Australia, as they look poised to sneak into the top eight given the circumstances presented above.
Follow Us
Subscribe