Giannis Antetokounmpo To Play For Greece

 Giannis Antetokounmpo  will represent Greece in international play this summer having received the approval of the Milwaukee Bucks.

In spite of reports to the contrary in recent days, it seems as if Giannis Antetokounmpo has received the Milwaukee Bucks blessing, and now a summer of international play awaits him.

Antetokounmpo had made no secret of his desire to play for Greece this summer as they attempt to qualify for the Olympic games in a tournament in July, before hopefully competing in the Olympics themselves in August.

Still, up until late on Thursday evening, it seemed like there was no guarantee that Antetokounmpo would be afforded that opportunity.

As he had stated in almost all of his interviews since the season wrapped up, Giannis needed to discuss the idea of his participation with the Bucks before making any firm commitments either way.

It had started to develop into something of a saga in recent days, as Sportando reported that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were yet to have any such discussion. The suggestion was even that it was more likely that Milwaukee would have preferred to see their young star stay behind in Milwaukee to continue to work on his new role as a point forward.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was named in Greece National Team preliminary squad but he is unlikely to play for his country this summer.

Antetokounmpo would love to play for Greece but he did not speak with the Bucks yet.

The Bucks want him to work in the US this summer on his new role (point guard) and his new role in the team, as franchise player.

Those reports turned out to be false though, as both the team and the player took to social media to share in the news.

First, Giannis took to Instagram to proclaim that “The decision was made”. Antetokounmpo posted a photo of himself and his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpofrom their recent streetball event, with the Greek flag in his hands. The image was also captioned with the hashtag “#BucksThankYou”.

That post was quickly followed up by an official reaction from the Bucks Twitter account, urging Giannis to “Own The Future”.

Antetokounmpo now faces the prospect of joining his national teammates in Turin, Italy from July 4-9 where they will compete to secure their spot on the plane to Rio.

If the Bucks are to advance, they will have to get the better of the likes of Croatia, Italy, Mexico, Iran and Tunisia. If the Greeks prevail in securing the single spot up for grabs from that tournament, they will take part in the Olympics proper with the basketball schedule running from August 6-19.

So, for any Bucks fans who were worried about waiting until October to see Giannis in action again, the wait will be short-lived. Now the hope has to be for a valuable learning experience and a healthy summer of play

6:00 PM