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Fullcourtpass: Giannis Antetokounmpo watching Olympiacos in Greece with Novak Djokovic (Via @BasketNews_com )
Giannis Antetokounmpo watching Olympiacos in Greece with Novak Djokovic
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) April 30, 2026
(Via @BasketNews_com) pic.twitter.com/BIZ8iw9JOu
Addressing his status for the upcoming international play, with the schedule for the senior national team of Greece featuring two FIBA windows this summer, Giannis Antetokounmpo revealed that he will be unable to suit up in the upcoming FIBA World Cup 2027 games in July and August. “I cannot play in the World Cup qualifying windows. I really wanted to play with the national team, because I did not play much with the Bucks this season due to injury. Now that I’m healthy, I wanted to play, but we will wait until 2027,” he explained in a walk-and-talk with Greek broadcaster ANT1, pointing toward the World Cup’s final stage in Qatar during the next offseason as his next major milestone with the national team. “My legs are fine,” he added.
Harris Stavrou: Nick Galis Hall on FIRE for Giannis and his family. Antetokounmpo is having fun hearing people asking him to play for Aris BC 💥
“What are the next steps now that the season’s over? Do you give him space? He goes back to Greece? What’s the group chat like? What are the details? Because it’s been exhausting all season long talking about this.” Bobby Portis: “To be honest, I don’t really know the direction, for real. To be honest, it’s more so: are they going to work with him to find a new coach? If they’re working with him to find a new coach, then I would say he stays. You know what I’m saying? If they’re not working with him to find a new coach, then, obviously, I think it goes the other way around. So, I think we’ll just find out here soon.”
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Mariah Antetokounmpo and the couple’s four young children remained in Greece, their offseason home, long after the summer months ended to avoid the drama. Their absence was noticed around Fiserv Forum, where the family usually is a major part of Bucks game days. The boys like to help dad with his pre-game warm-up shots. Mariah is a supportive spouse and attentive mom. The Bucks staff and employees all pitch in to keep an eye on the kids, who frequent the locker room. But for weeks, Antetokounmpo was alone, without them. "I didn't know how this is going to be," he said. "And one thing that I always said is that as a father, I would never put my kids in a position where my profession would hurt them and their lifestyle.”
AEK BC Athens entered the race to join the brand-new NBA Europe league, the SDNA reports. NBA President Mark Tatum recently confirmed that over 50 organizations have submitted applications for a franchise in specific cities, with Athens being one of the key candidates.
The NBA's global expansion happened decades after Chamberlain retired. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had little knowledge of Chamberlain growing up in Greece, but he has heard his name plenty en route to winning two MVPs and a title. "Whenever you look at a stat, he's always up there," Antetokounmpo said. "Not just up there, but way, way up there. You kind of ask yourself, was he like really, really that dominant?" Most of what Antetokounmpo knows about Chamberlain he learned from watching "Bill Russell: Legend," the Netflix documentary about the all-time great Boston Celtics center who was Chamberlain's primary rival. "They were going back and forth, and you saw how dominant he was and what Bill was saying. How he was trying to limit him as much as possible, but it was almost impossible," Antetokounmpo said. "Now, we are talking about Bill Russell saying that -- one of the best defenders ever to play his game. So, you understand kind of how dominant he was."
Representatives from Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, two soccer and basketball heavyweights, Olimpia Milano, Panathinaikos, ASVEL, Bayern Munich and Alba Berlin were participants, signaling their interest in joining NBA Europe. NBA officials met privately with Fenerbahce, a top European team from Istanbul, last week in Berlin. Additionally, representatives from English soccer giant Manchester City were there, as were executives from Italian soccer powerhouse AC Milan, signaling their intent to either create new teams in their cities or invest further in existing teams.
Kostas Antetokounmpo is set for a loan assignment at Aris Betsson. Seeking an upgrade in his playing status for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, Olympiacos is expected to soon officially confirm the loan of the 28-year-old center. A former NBA and EuroLeague champion, the brother of Milwaukee Bucks teammates Giannis, Thanasis, and Alex, is entering the BKT EuroCup for the first time in his career. Switching to the second tier of Euroleague Basketball, he meets the Thessaloniki outfit at 6-6 in Gro
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Panathinaikos Aktor Athens have decided to retain Omer Yurtseven and Kenneth Faried through the end of the current season, head coach Ergin Ataman confirmed on the eve of the Greek Derby against Olympiacos Piraeus.
According to the website Iefimerida, the guard of the Kolossos Rhodes, Andrew Goudelock, was arrested after a quantity of hashish was found in his possession.
The 37-year-old guard is in his third season with the Rhodes team, while this year (having also suffered an injury) in 7 appearances in the Stoiximan GBL, he has 14.1 points and 3 assists. In the past, he has worn the jersey of the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as Fenerbahce, with whom he played in the Euroleague.
He also expressed his desire to finish his career with Olympiacos and reflected on how he managed to adapt so quickly to Giorgos Bartzokas’ playing style. “When I was younger, I was really emotional on the court. I played with a lot of emotion — maybe too much. In the NBA, there are simply too many games for that. You’re going to get crushed, you’re going to have crazy ups and downs because you feel and absorb all those emotions. And even though I’m more stoic now, the passion here allowed me to reconnect with that side of myself. It felt amazing to play with that ‘fire’ and that energy again… I really missed it. I’m truly happy that here I got to feel alive again!”