Giannis Antetokounmpo made his comeback after 78 days by playing for Greece in a friendly match in Athens against Bahamas, as Greece gears up for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus to secure a spot in the Olympics.
Greece secured a convincing 102-75 victory, with Antetokounmpo scoring 14 points on 5 out of 6 field goals. The star player also contributed five rebounds, one assist, and one steal in just 14 minutes of play.
After his 2023-24 season with the Milwaukee Bucks was cut short due to a left calf strain, Antetokounmpo returned to play and impressed the Greek crowd, sparking optimism about the national team’s potential in the upcoming Olympic Games, should they qualify.
Konstantinos Mitoglou led the team coached by Vassilis Spanoulis with 18 points. Nick Calathes contributed seven points along with 11 assists. Thomas Walkup amassed six points, nine assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
The 2024 FIBA men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs), scheduled from July 2-7 across Greece, Latvia, Puerto Rico, and Spain, will determine the final four teams to complete the men’s Olympic basketball lineup this summer. Each OQT features six teams, grouped into two groups of three.
These tournaments include the 16 highest-ranked teams from the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup that did not qualify and the top three ranked teams per region in the FIBA World Ranking.
In the Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF), Greece will host the Dominican Republic on July 3 and Egypt on July 4 as part of their campaign in the qualifiers.
If they rank first or second in Group B during the preliminary stage, the team coached by Spanoulis will progress to a single-elimination match against Croatia, Slovenia, or New Zealand in the semifinals. Advancing to the final presents an opportunity to secure one of the available Olympic Games berths from among the six competing countries.
In January, Antetokounmpo joined an elite group in NBA history by averaging over 32 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists while shooting 55% from the field over a 10-game span within a single season, alongside Nikola Jokic and Wilt Chamberlain.
During that period, he was averaging a career-high 31.6 points per game with a shooting percentage of 61%. Antetokounmpo set a franchise record for the Milwaukee Bucks by scoring 64 points in a game against the Indiana Pacers last season. He followed this with 48 points against the Houston Rockets, marking his second consecutive game with over 40 points and the sixth such game of the season.
Antetokounmpo now ties Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the Bucks, who achieved this feat 20 times, though Abdul-Jabbar accomplished it two more times with the Los Angeles Lakers.
