LILLE (France) - How big are the Olympics? So much so that one of the greatest athletes of this entire generation is having the time of his life, repeating time and time again how special this whole experience is to him.
And Giannis Antetokounmpo is a special player, too. At 27.0 points per game, he's the current top scorer of the Paris 2024 Olympics, he's up to 7.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals and efficiency rating of 29.7 per game.
His Olympic campaign is not over yet. A win over Australia kept Greece's hopes alive, they could still sneak into the Quarter-Finals as one of the two best ranked third-placed teams from all groups.
"I don't know (if Greece will advance). I cannot predict the future, I'm trying to enjoy everything as much as I can," the 29-year-old said.
How does it feel to get the first win as an Olympian?
I feel great. Obviously all three games I feel we competed very well. The first two games did not go our way, but even with one of the best teams in the tournament, Canada, third in the world last year, we competed extremely hard, took it down the stretch.
And Spain, I was proud of the team of the way we competed. Obviously we weren't focused in the first half then, in the second half we defended better, played faster, found open shots, easy baskets, and we competed to the best of our ability against the best European team, which is Spain.
And now, Australia, in 2020 they were third in the Olympics. We came out, we knew we had a mission in our heads, we didn't want to leave this tournament without getting a win. We felt like we're a very, very good team to not get a win.
We fought in all three games, I don't think there's been a game in which we weren't fighting until the end.
Australia almost had a comeback after Greece had a 19-point lead. What happened?
In the first 20 minutes we played so hard that in the second half we did not have as much energy. But at the end of the day, we still figured out a way to win, even when they came back into the game.
You just gotta give credit to all of the guys on the team, from Papanikolaou guarding, Walkup guarding and scoring the ball, Nick Calathes navigating every pick and roll, Mitoglou being able to cut, score and space the floor for us, Papagiannis playing strong, covering the rim, getting us rebounds and making it tough for everybody to get into the paint, shooters Toliopoulos and Moraitis, guys who came in, they were aggressive. Kalaitzakis - unbelievable defense in six minutes, he had three or four steals, you just gotta give credit to all of those guys. As a collective, we were able to come together and get a win tonight.
What was the difference you felt from Australia's side during that run?
Incredible defense. Incredible. Clinic. They were helping, they were being physical, they were fouling in transition, rebounding the ball, just making it tough for us. Offensively, they were moving the ball, playing downhill, Giddey was playing downhill, Daniels was playing downhill, Mills was moving so much, bigs were rolling to the basket. They were very good in the third quarter, but I think we had a little bit more energy to make some good plays down the stretch and were able to get the win.
Coach Spanoulis said that you are getting beaten up more than any other player at the Olympics. Does that limit your game?
I wouldn't say it limits my game. I'm still able to do what I do. I try to play free, I try to play with joy, try not to think about anything. When I practice I'm by myself. When I play the game, I try to think like I'm out there by myself. I don't try to think about the things that I cannot control.
I cannot control other people's defense, I cannot control the officials, but they are not robots. They won't make every single call the moment you want the call. You know they would miss a lot of things, and they're human like us. We turn the ball over, we make a wrong play or a wrong read, they will make a wrong play or a wrong read, so you just gotta give them the benefit of a doubt.
That's what I've done my whole career. I try to approach it in the most respectful way I can. If I see something, or somebody is trying to hit me or play dirty, I always go and tell them: "Hey, number 2 or 7 or 15 is playing a little bit dirty, please keep an eye on this." They do the best job they can to protect me or my teammates and every player in this tournament. But they are human. They're not robots.
These must be tense moments, knowing you will finish third in Group A, but not knowing if it would be enough to make it to Paris?
Right now, we don't even know if we are going to be in Paris, we are waiting to see the result in Serbia against South Sudan, then we'll see who's our opponent and we'll take it from there.
But I try to, this year and moving forward in my career, I try not to set expectations. I try to take it day by day. I'll go back home to the Village, eat some good food in the cafeteria, see my fellow athletes, spend some time with my teammates.
Once we realize if we're going to Paris, and we see who our opponents are gonna be, we're going to focus, practice hard, and we're gonna do what we did in these three games, which is give it everything that we have. Because we represent ourselves, we represent our families, everybody who's watching us.
What is this Olympic experience like?
I waited. I wanted to be in this stage for a long time. I'm trying to enjoy every single day with my teammates.
I remember when I came in the first day, I texted my wife and I told her I can't stop smiling. It's just the atmosphere, the vibe is just different. Obviously, it's hard for me to be around every basketball player, because we compete against one another and then you see them at the cafeteria or in the elevator or outside in the athlete's lounge area.
But just... The energy is different. The moment that we went to the ceremony with all the Greek athletes and my teammates, and lifting up the flag, seeing the people coming to Paris to celebrate us, and cheer for us, or going back to the games and how we competed and the crowd was into it, it's incredible.
I'm happy that I'm here, I'm not taking it for granted. I'm gonna enjoy it to the fullest because you never know if you're ever going to have this opportunity.
It took us 16 years to get here. If it's another 16 years, I'll be, what, 45 years old? So...
Maybe you return as a coach?
No (laughs). I'm just happy that I see my kids out there. They're able to see my competing at this stage and I can tell them the stories how it was.
You were the flagbearer for Greece. Could you talk us through that day?
It was unbelievable. The energy was extremely high going from the Village in Lille to the Village in Paris, seeing all the athletes, like thousands of athletes, going to the bus with all the Greek athletes together as one, it was a great experience, seeing how everybody carried themselves, how everybody has a little bit of pressure. You can see it in their eyes as much as they don't want to admit it. But once we got to the boat, lift up the flag and started going through the river, everybody kinda relaxed.
For me it was one of the biggest honors I'll ever have. The day that they told me and asked me to be the flag bearer, my first response was that I want my captain, Kostas Papanikolaou to do it. He had more national team appearances than me, and I was like: "Man, it feels right, it feels right."
But they were like: "No, we want you to do it, because you represent everything the sports represent, the way you carry yourself on the court and off the court, we want you to do it." I said great, it would be my honor to do it, and when I did it, as I said, the biggest honor of my life. I know my father is watching from the heaven and dancing about this, he's literally dancing.
I might win another championship. I might win another MVP, who knows, but I may never carry the flag again. So I tried to soak it in those 45 minutes, as much as I can. Going through the Eiffel Tower as it was raining, it made it even more dramatic.
Seeing my mom among all the fans, with her phone always videotaping me, it was a great experience that I'll never forget.
FIBA