The “Greek Freak” saw his younger brother, Kostas, become a EuroLeague champion
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a Final Four experience to remember
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7 Mins read
Sitting courtside for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Semifinals and Championship Game were some of the biggest names on the planet and perhaps none more so than Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Once it became clear that his younger brother, Kostas Antetokounmpo, would be competing at the Final Four in Berlin with Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, Giannis didn’t hesitate in booking a trip to attend the games at Uber Arena.
After all, the Bucks’ exit from the NBA Playoffs provided a golden opportunity for the “Greek Freak” to see some EuroLeague basketball up close and personal. Come Sunday night, the two Antetokounmpo brothers were able to come together in celebration as the Greens won their first EuroLeague title in 13 years.
Giannis isn’t the first major star to attend the EuroLeague Final Four, nor will he be the last. For example, last year saw Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis and New Orleans Pelicans big man Jonas Valanciunas fly in to watch the EuroLeague Championship Game in Kaunas, Lithuania. This time, it was the turn of Giannis, Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen and world-renowned actor Bill Murray to get the front-row attention at the Final Four.
It was incredible to see just how engaged Giannis was during the games – even when Kostas wasn’t playing. On Friday, the Milwaukee forward got himself comfortable at Uber Arena early so that he could watch Kostas and Panathinaikos take on Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in the Final Four’s curtain raiser.
When Kostas delivered a big block on Scottie Wilbekin midway through the second quarter, Giannis quickly got off his seat to applaud his younger brother’s hustle. In fact, it was reminiscent of when fellow NBA superstar Kevin Durant celebrated every big play by AS Monaco as he watched his friend Mike James in action at Salle Gaston Medecin during the 2022 EuroLeague Playoffs.
Once the first semifinal was over and Panathinaikos had won 73-57, a proud Giannis briefly took over Martin Henlan’s reporting duties by asking Kostas a few questions on EuroLeague TV. Notably, Giannis made clear what he thinks of the EuroLeague before beginning his questions: “EuroLeague basketball, best basketball in the world.”
It would have been perhaps understandable if Giannis opted not to show up for the second semifinal between Real Madrid and Olympiacos Piraeus given that Kostas’s night was done, but no. Instead, the two-time NBA MVP returned to his courtside seat and was again amazed by the incredible atmosphere put on by those inside Uber Arena. It also provided Giannis with an opportunity to see Panathinaikos’s competition ahead of Sunday’s championship game.
On Sunday, the trio of Giannis, Pippen and Bill Murray once again earned plenty of off-court attention, with the Greece international being the first to arrive so that he could take in the third-place game between Olympiacos and Fenerbahce. It’s worth remembering that despite Kostas playing for Panathinaikos, Giannis suits up for the Greek national team with the likes of the Olympiacos trio of Kostas Papanikolaou, Thomas Walkup and Giannoulis Larentzakis as well as Fenerbahce big man Georgios Papagiannis, so it was a chance to see his friends play.
Having played 7:12 minutes in the semifinal, Kostas Antetokounmpo saw his game time drop to 3:10 in the championship game, yet Giannis was as proud as he could have been – his brother had now won a championship in both the NBA, which came with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, and the EuroLeague. Giannis also sought out Greens head coach Ergin Ataman afterward to offer him some words: “You are No. 1, the best coach. I would love to play for you.”
For Coach Ataman, he was overjoyed to receive such praise from a player of Giannis’s quality. "Thank you to Giannis Antetokounmpo,” he said in the post-game press conference. “He came after the game and told me that I'm the best coach in the world. If the NBA MVP tells you this, I'm very proud. He didn't say from Europe, he told me [I’m] the best coach in the world. Thank you, Giannis."
Indeed, it was such a pleasure to have the 2021 NBA champion at the Final Four that we should all be saying thank you, Giannis. For a true basketball lover, the EuroLeague is like no other league on the planet – and that is something Giannis got to experience during his few days in Berlin.