PIRAEUS (Greece) - Even through he missed nearly three months of basketball action, Giannis Antetokounmpo still had no doubts in his mind whether to show up in the blue-and-white colors of Greece this summer.
Part one of his plan is now completed, as he led the nation back to the Olympics for the first time since 2008. Celebrations on Sunday were double for the 29-year-old forward, as he was also named the TISSOT MVP of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 Greece.
Giannis had 32 points in his first game of the event, hitting all 11 of his field goals against the Dominican Republic. He then sat out the game against Egypt, to get more time to recover for the Semi-Finals.
Against Slovenia, Antetokounmpo had 13 points in just 21 minutes of work, but Greece were a +31 team with him on the floor.
In the Final, against Croatia, Antetokounmpo faced the towering figure of Ivica Zubac, but still managed to get 23 points with 8 rebounds and 3 assists in 29 minutes of action.
Winning this MVP award just adds to his already incredible list of accomplishments. He is an NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP, two-time NBA MVP, the top scorer of the FIBA EuroBasket 2022, and now, among all other accolades, he is also an Olympian.
That starts part two of his masterplan for the summer. Greece will now join Group A in Lille, next to Australia, Canada and the winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 Spain.
The path does not end there, you know the Greek Freak is always hungry for more.
FIBA