Giannis Antetokounmpo has been making waves with Greece ahead of the EuroBasket tournament which tips off on September 1st. There has been a lot of buzz about the Giannis-led Greek side as they look to compete for the gold medal in the upcoming tournament. At this point, however, even the Milwaukee Bucks superstar himself doesn't believe that his team has what it takes to win it all.
Giannis just slapped Greece with some harsh reality a few weeks ahead of the tournament tip-off. A lot of pressure has been placed on his able shoulders, but Antetokounmpo has made it abundantly clear that this is not a one-man show (via Stella Mazonakis of Greek City Times):
“I am not the best player in the world. It’s hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “Can the team help me to play as I do at the Bucks? But how will Sloukas play as he did at Olympiakos? How will Papapetrou play as he played at Panathinaikos? It’s hard. I can’t play the way I do with Bucks.”
“You can’t have 11 people adjust to one. I will play wherever the team wants me to. We have a chance, but to be honest, from the training I saw yesterday, we are not ready for a medal.”
Giannis has developed into a true leader for the Bucks and it seems like he's trying to motivate his Greek teammates here as well. According to the former back-to-back MVP, he believes that this team can still reach its goal of winning a gold medal if they put the work in:
“But if we work for three weeks we can [be ready]. We must have realistic goals. And at the Bucks, we weren’t going for a championship from the beginning. It happened little by little,” Giannis added.
In a way, it feels like Giannis is also calling out his teammates' effort in training. He doesn't seem to like the level of dedication they have put in, and he's placed a major challenge right in front of them with his public declaration.