Greece may have entered the 2024 Paris Olympics as a team with one of the best basketball players in the entire world in Giannis Antetokounmpo, but advancing deep into the competition amid their bid to win the gold medal was never going to be easy. They were drawn into the so-called group of death, having to fight for their tournament lives against fellow basketball powerhouses in Canada, Spain, and Australia. In a group where anything could happen, it's Greece that has gotten the short end of the stick, losing their first two matchups and essentially being on the brink of elimination.
On Tuesday morning, Antetokounmpo and the Greek basketball team fell short against Spain, 84-77, in another hard-fought battle — a worthy follow-up to their barn-burner of an opening matchup against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Team Canada. Any feelings of frustration from the Milwaukee Bucks star would have been understandable, but Sam Amick of The Athletic received an unexpectedly calm response from Antetokounmpo.
“[Antetokounmpo] responded ever-so-briefly to a greeting from yours truly by giving a thumbs-up, a nod and a hasty exit thereafter. Suffice it to say, Giannis was in a mood. And who could blame him?” Amick wrote.
This is not yet the time for Giannis Antetokounmpo to lose his cool completely. Unlikely as it may be, Greece still has a shot at advancing to the next round of the competition if they turn around their point differential of -14 with a rousing victory against Australia and end up being one of the best third-place teams in the group stage. But a lot of things outside of their control have to happen for that to materialize.
Santi Aldama and Spain have the last laugh over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece
Giannis Antetokounmpo tried his best to will Greece to victory. Down by 16 at one point in the game against Spain, Antetokounmpo and company came roaring back, and it was evident in Antetokounmpo's body language that he was out there with just one thing in his mind: to get the win. He posterized Santi Aldama emphatically, which ended up being the highlight of his 27-point, 11-rebound, and three-assist night.
Alas, Spain had the deeper and more well-rounded team. Led by Aldama himself, who finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds on the night, Spain held off Greece's furious comeback. Antetokounmpo will need some better performances from his teammates, particularly Nick Calathes, Kostas Papanikolaou, and Thomas Walkup, if they were to give themselves a shot at making it into the top eight.
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