Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dominance is just like basketball: borderless. The Greek Freak didn’t have the best ending to his 2021/22 NBA season, as the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the second round of the playoffs. One year after winning his first NBA championship, Giannis is ready to win it all at an international level, and today, his journey to win the 2022 EuroBasket tournament started.
The first match of Group C is taking place today, and Giannis played in the second game of the day against Croatia. Team Greece started the game a little slow, letting Croatia go on a 7-0 run. After that, they caught up, taking the lead in the match after a while.
This was the tone of the game, with Greece taking leads and Croatia cutting them, but never getting ahead of their rivals. The 4th quarter arrived, and that’s when Giannis showed a glimpse of his power, doing the job when it mattered the most, leading Greece to a hard-fought win.
Giannis’ Dunk And Block Give Greece The Win vs. Croatia
The last minute of the game arrived with Croatia trying to tie and overcome Greece on the scoreboard, but a series of bad decisions from them, plus Giannis doing what he does better, killed the Balkans’ chances to win the match.
First, Antetokounmpo dunked the ball while he wasn’t even looking at the rim, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
GIANNIS. 😤😤😤
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) September 2, 2022
Then, he put the last nail in the coffin with a huge block, before making an and-1 on the other end to seal the deal for his squad.
Giannis actually blocked this. 😳🔥
(via @HalfCourtHoops)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) September 2, 2022
Giannis is simply incredible. He’s on a different level now, and it’s easy to see why so many people think he’s the best player in the world. During his first tournaments with Team Greece, he struggled to make his mark, but now he’s taking his NBA dominance to new territories.
In the end, Greece won the match 89-85, getting the first win of the tournament against a rival that played better than many thought. Giannis finished the game with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Antetokounmpo and co. are favorites to win it all this year, and this win was a statement of what they can do to rivals. Croatia presented a team full of NBA and EuroLeague players, but that wasn’t enough to beat the Greek Freak.
