Giannis Antetokounmpo: 'Being Greece's flag bearer in the Olympics would be awesome' / News - Basketnews.com

As Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready for his 10th season with the Milwaukee Bucks, he took the time to answer some questions about his future with the Greek NT and his EuroBasket experience.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Following a very demanding summer with the Greek national team, Giannis Antetokounmpo is ready for his tenth NBA season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Position:PF, SFAge:27Height:211 cmWeight:98 kgBirth place:Athens, GreeceProfileNewsStatistics

The 'Greek Freak' participated in Milwaukee's first preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks, as part of the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022. Now, the Bucks will close out their preseason slate with a road matchup against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Tuesday, October 11, and a home game against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, October 12.

The two-time NBA MVP said he's feeling "fine, physically and mentally," in an interview with COMOTE TV while in the UAE.

"Ι hope we all stay healthy. I believe that every year, 5-6 teams have chances for the title. We've kept the same players and we're a team with chemistry. I hope we win another championship," the 28-year-old forward commented on the Bucks' chances ahead of the new campaign which opens next week.

In the recent EuroBasket, Greece won all their five group games in Milan, then held off the Czech Republic, before falling to hosts Germany in Berlin. Antetokounmpo thinks the EuroBasket helped him a lot, mainly because of the challenges the FIBA game presents its NBA stars with.

"It first happened in 2014, when I was younger, but I understood it more in 2019 when I played in the World Cup. The spacing and the court are smaller, the game pace is slower, while the defender can stay in the paint as long as he wants, something that's not happening in the NBA," Giannis noted.

"This helps you find some open space. If you can do it in the European game, it's easier to do it in the NBA. It helped me have one of my best years in 2019-20," he went on to say.

Asked about what went wrong for Greece, the Greek superstar had one word as an answer. "Nothing," he promptly replied.

"The team gave everything. We made ourselves a promise that we would do our best, and we kept it. There are certain steps to be taken. Greece hasn't won a medal since 2009 and this will not happen suddenly."

The 2021 NBA champs and Finals MVP thinks that players and staff enjoyed better working conditions - from practices and flights to accommodation and team bonding.

"We also have the World Cup ahead of us, which is another chance, and then the Olympics, where we have to claim a medal," he added.

"The goal does not change. We've built something very, very good. Everyone, players and coaches, gave everything. You could feel the people's love in Berlin, in Milan, in Belgrade, in Athens...

In the old days, when we lost, you felt like we were letting people down. This year, we felt like this team is up to something. Hopefully, in the coming years we'll be able to give joy to the fans and to ourselves."

For Giannis, the feeling of playing with Greece doesn't even come close to his experience in the NBA.

"The national team's jersey is 'heavy' and I like it," he pointed out. "I've been playing for almost 10 years with the Bucks, but playing with the NT and listening to the national anthem is different."

Giannis repeated that this summer, playing with Greece made him fall in love with basketball again.

"You wake up anxious, but you're off to do something great. You think that you'll be remembered forever if you pull it off. I want to play in the national team for many years," he stressed.

Does that mean he could be Greece's flag bearer in the 2024 Olympics in Paris?

"That would be awesome," Giannis admits while trying to envision the future. "But we have to win first and work through the summer, so that we can do something great."

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