Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is dominating for Greece at EuroBasket. He led all scorers as Greece defeated Israel 84-79 in the round of 16 of the competition. They have eliminated Israel and proceeded to the quarter-finals of the tournament. And it would not be possible without Antetokounmpo’s 37 points and 10 rebounds in the game.
Israel definitely had a game plan for the Greek superstar, as any scouting report would clearly put him as the biggest threat on their team. But in effect, it was not enough to stop Antetokounmpo’s domination. Before the game, the media asked the Israeli head coach, Ariel Beit-Halahmy, about what the Israeli team needed to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“You’d need to bring an M-16; that would be the easiest [way],” the coach reportedly joked with the reporters. This was not the first time a coach joked about needing guns to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo at EuroBasket. Earlier in the tournament, the Italian head coach also joked about needing a sniper’s help to stop him.
However, since these comments were coming from the coach of a controversial nation accused of genocide, the use of firearms as even a joke for a last resort did not sit well with basketball fans. The comments went viral on social media as fans expressed their opinions on the coach’s comments.
“No way this is real.”
“That answer was definitely not PR approved.”
“Are we surprised?”
“Shocking, this is the solution they come up with.”
Various such reactions flooded social media, as fans could not believe what they heard. If the same joke came from any other country’s coach, it may have been received differently.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Run At EuroBasket
Giannis Antetokounmpo is currently averaging 30.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game at EuroBasket this year. He missed two games in the competition so far, one due to injury and one due to needing a rest.
In that process, he missed the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Cyprus. Considering he was a last-minute scratch against Bosnia, even they had a plan ready to try and stop Antetokounmpo.
Jazz big man Jusuf Nurkic revealed that Bosnia planned to force him into jump shots and keep him out of transition because he “sucked” at them when he played at EuroBasket in the past.
Teams have always had a plan for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but it rarely works. He has arguably been the third-best NBA player in this entire tournament, going neck-to-neck with players like Luka Doncic and Alperen Sengun.
A clash between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic or Alperen Sengun is possible if Greece and Slovenia or Turkey reach the Finals. If that happens, it would be a blockbuster must-watch game between high-level NBA talents.
