In 2014, Antetokounmpo played for the senior men's Greek national basketball team for the first time, helping Greece finish ninth overall in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup with a 5–1
record. He averaged 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds across the six games, while shooting 45.8%
from the field.[157]
Antetokounmpo again joined the Greek national team for EuroBasket 2015. Greece's roster consisted of many experienced players, most of them previously crowned European champions
with their clubs, like Vassilis Spanoulis, Ioannis Boudouris and Nikos Zisis, and Greece was a Favorite for a medal, after showing great form in friendly games.[158] At EuroBasket 2015, Greece was unbeaten in the group stages, and reached the quarter-finals, where a tight game ended in
Favor of the eventual champions, Spain, eventually finishing fifth with a 7–1 record.
Antetokounmpo finished the tournament with three double-doubles, and a career-high seventeen
rebounds against Spain, leading his team in rebounds for the tournament. In eight games, he
averaged 9.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.[159]
Antetokounmpo also played with Greece at the 2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying
Tournament, where he averaged 15.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.7 steals, and 2.0
blocks per game in 3 games played.[160] Greece failed to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics,
after being eliminated by Croatia, by a score of 66–61.[161] He also played with Greece during their preparation phase for the EuroBasket 2017. He scored 20 points in a prep game
against Montenegro. [162] However, he missed the actual EuroBasket 2017 tournament, due to a knee injury.[163][164][165]
Antetokounmpo represented Greece at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where he became the first reigning NBA MVP to play in a World Cup.[166] He averaged 14.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.4
assists, 2.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game, in 5 games played.[167] Greece finished 11th in the tournament after they failed to advance past the second round, which was regarded as a
disappointing result in national and international sports media.[168][166]
He rejoined the team in August 2022. On August 25, 2022, Antetokounmpo scored a national
team career-high 40 points, along with 8 rebounds and 5 assists, in a 94–100 overtime loss
to Serbia in the 2023 World Cup qualifiers.[169]
In September, Antetokounmpo played in the EuroBasket 2022 with Greece, his second of such tournament. On September 6, Antetokounmpo scored 41 points in a 99–79 group stage win
over Ukraine. [170] This was the twelfth-highest points tally of all-time, and the most points scored in a EuroBasket game since Dirk Nowitzki in 2001. [171] Greece was eliminated by Germany in the quarter-finals, in a game in which Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists but
was ejected after two unsportsmanlike fouls.[172] He averaged 29.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.7
assists, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks per game in 6 games played, while shooting 56.6% from the
field.[173] Antetokounmpo finished the tournament as the leading scorer and was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
From 2014 to 2022, Antetokounmpo played with the senior men's Greek national team in twenty-
nine official games, in major FIBA tournaments. In those specific games, he has scored a total of
560 points, for a scoring average of 19.3 points per game.[174] In all senior national team games played, including prep games, which are included in the official stats of national team players,
Antetokounmpo has played in a total of 59 games with Greece. In those games, he scored a total
of 870 points, for a scoring average of 14.8 points per game.[175]
Player profile
Antetokounmpo during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game
Standing 7 feet 0 inches (2.13 m) tall and weighing 242 pounds (110 kg), Antetokounmpo is
officially listed as a forward and sometimes described as a point forward, [176][177][178] but has been deployed across all five positions. Highly athletic and versatile, Antetokounmpo is often recognized as one of the best all-around players in the NBA, and many analysts have declared
him "positionless" and as embodying the future of the league.[179][180][181]
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