Giannis Antetokounmpo led Greece booked the spot in 16 rounds of Eurobasket 2025.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is undoubtedly the most talented player to play on the Greek men’s basketball team.
Obviously, the team fixed high expectations for the Greek freak during the 2025 Eurobasket. So far, Antetokounmpo has now lived with them as he leads Group C with 9 points.
Antetokounmpo and Co.’s recent victory came against Spain as Greece recorded a 90-86 victory and won 16 rounds in the tournament.
In a four-point victory, Antetokounmpo finished the night with 25 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, giving him a solid 9-15 shot from the field.
However, given the Spanish team’s suffocating defense against Antetokounmpo, head coach Vassilis Spanoulis was disappointed with the level of hosting at Eurobasket 2025.
“Once again, we saw a big difference in the number of free throws. We have to look at the game again. In such a game, one team has 37 attempts and the other 19 are not 19.”
Spanolis then gave an example of Luka Donsic of Slovenia. Donsick surpassed Golan Dragic.
“Luka (Doncic) or other players won’t get 20-23 free throws per game. Giannis begs you to get a foul during hacking,” the Greek coach added.
For context, Antetokounmpo shot 12 free throws against Spain, but that didn’t seem to be enough.
Given that Antetokounmpo often attacks paint and earns most of the time, it’s natural that he wins many trips to the charity stripes.
But Spanolis doesn’t see it as he pointed out how other stars like Donsic, Nikola Jokic, Alperen Senggan and Lauri Markanen are hosted.
“At least twice he should be awarded a foul like a sportsman and we need to face everyone on the same standard.
Thus, when you face Luka, Jokic, Sengan, Markanen, Markanen, you must face Giannis in the same way,” Spanoris said.
So, what are the acceptable numbers for a Greek head coach?
“For Giannis, there are few free throws of just 12. He certainly could have scored another 10,” he concluded.
It will be interesting to see whether the rambling rants of the Greek head coach will affect the way Giannis hosts in his 16 matches against Israel.