The Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Greece have booked a spot in the Round of 16 of EuroBasket 2025.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is arguably the most talented player to ever play for the Greek men’s basketball team.
Evidently, the team pinned major expectations on the Greek Freak during the 2025 EuroBasket. So far, Antetokounmpo has lived up to them as Greece currently leads Group C with nine points.
Antetokounmpo and Co.’s most recent win came against Spain as Greece registered a 90-86 victory, clinching a Round of 16 spot in the tournament.
Greece head coach Vassilis Spanoulis goes off at EuroBasket referees
In the four-point win, Antetokounmpo finished the night with 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists while shooting a solid 9-of-15 from the field.
But considering the Spanish team’s suffocating defense against Antetokounmpo, head coach Vassilis Spanoulis was disappointed with the level of officiating in EuroBasket 2025.
“One more time, I have seen a lot of difference in the number of free throws. I have to see the game again. In such a game, one team can’t have 37 attempts and the other 19,” Spanoulis said via EuroHoops.
Spanoulis then gave the example of Slovenia’s Luka Doncic, who recently became his nation’s leading scorer with 1,100 points. Doncic surpassed Goran Dragic.
“You can’t have Luka [Doncic] and other players taking 20-23 free throws per game and Giannis begging to get a foul while getting hacked,” the Greek coach added.
For context, Antetokounmpo shot 12 free throws against Spain, but apparently that was not enough, per coach Spanoulis.
Vassilis Spanoulis says Giannis Antetokounmpo deserved 10 more free throws
Considering Antetokounmpo often attacks the paint to score the majority of the time, it’s only natural for him to earn a lot of trips to the charity stripe.
However, coach Spanoulis isn’t seeing it as he pointed out how other stars like Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Alperen Sengun, and Lauri Markkanen are being officiated.
“At least two times, he should have been awarded unsportsmanlike fouls, and we have to face everybody with the same criteria.
If we face Luka, Jokic, and Sengun, Markkanen, like this, we have to face Giannis the same way,” Spanoulis stated.
So, what would be an acceptable number for the Greek head coach?
“Just 12 free throws are few for Giannis; he could have had another 10 for sure,” he concluded.
It will be interesting to see if the Greek head coach’s furious rant will have any impact on the way that Giannis is officiated in the Round of 16 matchup against Israel.
