“Greek Freak“, Giannis Antetokounmpo said Friday he would play for Greece at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China this summer.
Voted the NBA’s most valuable player (MVP) for the 2018-19 regular season, the 24-year-old Milwaukee Bucks forward said: “I want to be there to help my country achieve something good.”
Speaking at an event in Athens to promote his line of sports shoes, Antetokounmpo added: “I have not spoken to the coach about which position I will play.
“Whether I play in position 1 or 5 I don’t care. I want to play, I’m a basketball player.”
He said he had already talked to some of his Greek teammates about the prospect of taking part in the August 31-September 15 tournament. “We are all excited and we are looking forward to the tournament,” he said.
Greece will play in Group F against Brazil, New Zealand and Montenegro and must finish in the top two to advance to second round Group K to go up against the top two sides from a Group E that consists of the USA, Turkey, Japan and the Czech Republic.
The top two sides from that second round group will reach the quarter-finals.
Antetokounmpo, born in Greece to Nigerian parents, first represented Greece in July 2013 at under-21 level, the same year he signed for the Bucks.
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