Giannis Antetokounmpo had to go back to the old him for Greece. On a night where Jonas Valanciunas dominated Dinos Mitoglu, it was Kostas Antetokounmpo who came to the aid of his big brother against Lithuania. Emmet Ryan on a win but a far from convincing display by Greece at EuroBasket 2025.
For all the evolution of how Greece use Giannis Antetokounmpo, this was a step back. Yet for all the faults, it is also their first trip to the medal round of EuroBasket since 2009. Jonas Valanciunas took advantage of a mismatch but Kostas Antetokounmpo stepped up in a big way.
Eugh, I’ll do it myself
Prior to this game, I wrote about how Greece had changed their approach to create the best situation for Giannis Antetokounmpo to dominate at EuroBasket 2025. An utterly rotten start by the favourites effectively made that irrelevant for most of the first quarter.
The decision to have Dinos Mitoglu guarding Jonas Valanciunas, who was back in the starting line-up, seemed less than wise. The Denver Nuggets big man rag dolled Mitoglu. While the latter did fine offensively, he was taking far too much of a beating in his own paint.
While Marek Blazevic did a fine job against Giannis in the first few possessions, he soon struggled to contain him. Antetokounmpo just went to work up the gut and put Greece on his back. He’s often asked to do so but this was supposed to be a scenario where his life got easier.
Little brother gives a big help
The introduction of Kostas Antetokounmpo changed Greece’s defensive performance enormously. This included when Giannis Antetokounmpo took a seat. Kostas came in and used his athleticism to start a block party.
His three first half blocks meant the energy boost he brought to Greece’s interior D was reflected in the statline. Kostas roused the men around him into action and substantially changed the tone of the first half. It forced the Lithuanian players on the perimeter into tougher spots, whereas Jonas Valanciunas and Blazevic had previously been creating space for them.
His regular job however is to be the man who has to foul. With Kostas picking up his first two a little too early for comfort, Mitoglu was reintroduced and Lithuania found a way to once again manage their have court offensive game well. Valanciunas knew he could get looks he liked against Mitoglu and he just kept taking them.
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A lucky break
The utter domination of Jonas Valanciunas over Dinos Mitoglu continued into the third quarter. That match-up was essentially Lithuania’s cheat code in this game. The Denver Nuggets man just kept on treating Mitoglu as an irrelevancy as he comfortably either went through or over him.
Then Mitoglu picked up two quick fouls and Vassilis Spanoulis had no choice but to bring back Kostas Antetokounmpo. Clearly Spanoulis wanted him to play in spurts for energy but it was visibly obvious that he was necessary to keep on the court as much as possible.
With little brother shoring up defensively, it made the job of carrying a nation a touch easier for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He could also bring more of his energy to bully Lithuania offensively. With Valanciunas tiring and getting testy, it looked like Greece had stumbled into the right plan.
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Jonas Valanciunas utterly dominated Dinos Mitoglu until the latter was finally forced to sit with foul trouble.
If we can get serious for a moment
Greece rarely trailed. Indeed, for the bulk of the game they led by at least two possessions. Yet it took something as simple as Jonas Valanciunas utterly dominating a mismatch with Dinos Mitoglu to make them look ordinary.
The statline tells an honest story. Giannis Antetokounmpo had to do all the offensive work pretty much alone. Kostas Antetokounmpo was their most effective other defender, and his minutes only increased because of foul trouble for Mitoglu.
Greece have made the medal round, for the first time since 2009. It is, in turn, the first trip to a medal round in any competition for Giannis. That’s a success. Yet this performance was against a side riddled with injuries that has pulled multiple tactical rabbits out of its backside just to get this far. Next up is Türkiye. That’s a different beast entirely.
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