Milwaukee Bucks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Greece Defeats Finland For EuroBasket Bronze Medal

September 14th, 2025 at 11:24am CST by Rory Maher

Greece survived a late rally by Finland in the third-place game of EuroBasket 2025, winning by a final score of 92-89 to claim the tournament’s bronze medal.

Greece led for nearly 38 minutes of the 40-minute contest and never trailed. While they were up by double-digits for the majority of the game, including a 17-point lead with four minutes left, Finland nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback, getting to within one possession in the closing seconds before coming up short.

The Greek national team was led by Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 30 points, 17 rebounds, six assists (seven turnovers), one steal and two blocks in just under 31 minutes. He converted two free throws in the clutch to help seal the victory.

Ex-NBA guard Tyler Dorsey, a Greek nationalized citizen, also had a big game, going 5-of-9 from three-point range en route to 20 points. Guard Vasileios Toliopoulos, who went scoreless in Greece’s semifinal loss to Turkey, had 15 points.

It’s the first time Antetokounmpo has won a medal with Greece and the first time the country has finished in the top three at EuroBasket since 2009, when it also won bronze.

Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen had team highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds for Finland, which also received strong contributions from Elias Valtonen (18 points, five rebounds, three steals), Mikael Jantunen (13 points, six rebounds, seven assists) and Olivier Nkamhoua (15 points, five rebounds).

Despite the loss, the Finnish national team had an excellent run in the tournament, including knocking off medal favorite Serbia in the round of 16. Finland, which finished in fourth place, had already secured its best result in EuroBasket history by making the semifinals.

The final between Germany and Turkey will take place later on Sunday.

Turkey Ousts Greece, Will Vie For EuroBasket Gold

September 12th, 2025 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Turkey jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter of Friday’s EuroBasket semifinal vs. Greece and never looked back, expanding that lead in each quarter en route to a 94-68 blowout win.

The victory secures Turkey’s spot in the EuroBasket championship game on Sunday. It will be the first time since the country hosted the tournament in 2001 that it has competed in the gold medal game — Turkey lost to Yugoslavia 24 years ago and has never won a EuroBasket title.

Rockets center Alperen Sengun had another big game on Friday, racking up 15 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists as Turkey outscored Greece by 24 points during his 33 minutes of action. However, the team’s leading scorers were forward/center Ercan Osmani, who had 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting, and Cedi Osman, who scored 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and was a team-best +32.

Osmani was also the primary defender against Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had his worst game of the tournament with just 12 points on 6-of-13 shooting. The Bucks forward, who had scored at least 25 points in each of his five previous EuroBasket games, had 12 rebounds and five assists, but committed five turnovers and was a -30 in 30 minutes.

Turkey and Germany will square off for EuroBasket gold on Sunday with their matching undefeated (8-0) records on the line. The Germans have three active NBA players and two former NBAers on their roster, including Franz Wagner of the Magic and Dennis Schröder of the Kings; Turkey’s roster features two current NBA players – Sengun and Sixers big man Adem Bona – and five ex-NBA players.

Greece, meanwhile, will go up against Lauri Markkanen and the Finnish national team in Sunday’s third-place game.

Cormac Ryan Joins Bucks On Exhibit 10 Contract

September 10th, 2025 at 7:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent guard Cormac Ryan has signed with the Bucks, the team announced on Twitter. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Ryan, 26, played for Milwaukee during the Las Vegas Summer League. He appeared in five games and averaged 11.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 23.1 minutes per night.

Ryan signed an Exhibit 10 contract last fall with the Thunder after going undrafted out of North Carolina. He was waived before the season began and played for the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue, averaging 12.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27 regular season games.

The Exhibit 10 deal can be converted to a two-way contract, but the Bucks currently have all three of their two-way slots filled. Most likely, Ryan will end up with Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, where he will be eligible to receive a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with the team.

Ryan’s signing brings the Bucks to the league limit of 21 players on their offseason roster.

Greece Reaches EuroBasket Semis Behind Giannis’ 29 Points

September 9th, 2025 at 5:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece reached the EuroBasket semifinals for the first time in 16 years, downing Lithuania, 87-76, in Riga, Latvia on Tuesday.

The Bucks superstar poured in 29 points to carry his team into a semifinal matchup with Turkey. Greece stalled in the quarterfinals during four of the last five EuroBasket tourneys, but broke though with a strong second-half effort.

Greece led 44-38 at the halftime break. Lithuania scored the first three points of the second half before Greece increased the cushion back to 51-41. It was 58-43 midway through the third quarter. Lithuania never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Giannis converted 9-of-15 shots and 11-of-16 free throws while scoring 29 points. He also added six rebounds, two assists, four steals and a block. Vasileios Toliopoulos hit three 3-pointers while scoring 17 points and Kostas Sloukas added 11 points and four assists.

Greece moved to within just two wins of their third EuroBasket crown. They took gold in 1987 and 2005.

“My players did a great job playing with a big heart in front of so many thousands of people from Lithuania in a very nice atmosphere,” head coach Vasileios Spanoulis said, per FIBA.

Nuggets big man Jonas Valanciunas led Lithuania with 24 points and 15 rebounds.

“Tonight was a battle. Both teams battled until the end. They were stronger,” Valanciunas said. “They were better than us. I was just happy we fought until the end, no matter what. It was a good fight.”

EuroBasket Notes: Kleiza, Giannis, Muurinen, Thanasis, Georgia

September 8th, 2025 at 8:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lithuania faces Greece in the quarterfinals of the EuroBasket tournament on Tuesday. Lithuanian general manager Linas Kleiza admits it will be difficult to keep Greece’s star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, under control, Arik Barkas of Eurohoops.net writes.

“It’s a very tough matchup,” he said. “You guys (Greek media) have a very good team and a major superstar, one of the best, if not the best, players in the world. So this is a huge challenge for us, and we’re going to try to do our best, play hard, work hard, and see where it goes. But you guys definitely have a great team.”

So what is Lithuania’s plan?

“I don’t know. We’ll see tomorrow. Hope he has a bad game,” Kleiza said. “That’s all you can hope for. We’re going to try our best, but that’s why he’s the MVP. How do you stop that?”

We have more on the EuroBasket tournament:

Finland will face Georgia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Finnish teenager Miikka Muurinen has made a splash in the tournament, Rafael Barlowe of NBABigBoard.com writes. Though he has only averaged 5.8 points per game, Muurinen is shooting 10-of-11 inside the arc and bringing energy on both ends, according to Barlowe. The 18-year-old forward is being pursued by top colleges such as Arkansas, Duke, and Kentucky and is considered a potential first-rounder in the 2027 draft.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who recently re-signed with the Bucks after missing last season due to an Achilles injury, is using Eurobasket as a stepping stone to his NBA return, HoopsHype tweets. “Having this tournament be a ramp-up period as I get back to the NBA is a blessing from God. It’s not often you get a jump start like this,” he said. “I’m blessed to be able to step on the court, find my rhythm, and build.”
The government of Georgia is rewarding the national team with a bonus due to its success in the tournament, according to Semih Tuna of Eurohoops.net. That bonus amounts to approximately 948 thousand Euros, or about $1.114MM U.S. dollars.

Eastern Notes: Shamet, Thomas, Bucks Survey, Donovan

September 8th, 2025 at 5:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Landry Shamet remains under heavy consideration to fill the Knicks’ available roster opening for a veteran’s minimum contract, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. Shamet was a key reserve for the club last season, appearing in 50 games. Shamet has reportedly been working out in New York while hoping to re-sign with the Knicks.

A report from Marc Stein earlier on Monday indicated that Ben Simmons turned down an offer from the Knicks. Another prominent free agent, Malik Beasley, is a long shot to sign with them, according to Bondy, who names Malcolm Brogdon as another possibility for that veteran-minimum slot.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

The fact that restricted free agent Cam Thomas signed his $6MM qualifying offer means he’s not in the Nets’ plans beyond this season, Erik Slater of ClutchPoints.com writes. Despite some gaudy offensive numbers, Thomas is an undersized, shoot-first guard who has been a poor defender throughout his career, Slater adds. The QO comes with a no-trade clause but the Nets now have little incentive to offer Thomas a featured role this season, which could complicate his market next summer, Slater notes.
Bucks fans who answered a survey conducted by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm have little faith that the team will the NBA championship this season. Out of 690 responses, 81.2% were either “not that confident” or “not at all confident” that the Bucks will win it all. However, Bucks fans remain high on general manager Jon Horst, as 83.1% said they were either “extremely confident” or “somewhat confident” in him. The same could not be said of Doc Rivers, as 62.7% expressed little or no confidence in the veteran head coach.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame over the weekend. Now, Donovan must show he’s a Hall of Fame coach by finally turning the Bulls into a true playoff contender, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times opines.

EuroBasket Quarterfinals Set After Greece Beats Israel

September 7th, 2025 at 5:20pm CST by Rory Maher

Led by Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who dominated with 37 points (on 18-of-23 shooting) and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes, Greece was the final team to advance to the quarterfinals of EuroBasket 2025 on Sunday after defeating Israel.

Although the game was close through most of the first three quarters and the final margin of victory was only five points, the Greek national team never trailed and was ahead for 39:13 of the 40-minute contest, according to FIBA. Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija scored a team-high 22 points for Israel in the loss.

Greece will now face Lithuania, which eliminated host nation Latvia in the round of 16.

In a press release, FIBA announced the dates and tip-off times for each single-elimination quarterfinal matchup, which will continue to be held in Riga, Latvia. They are as follows:

Tuesday, September 9:

Turkey vs. Poland – 9:00am CT / 5:00pm EEST
Lithuania vs. Greece – 1:00pm CT / 9:00pm EEST

Wednesday, September 10:

Finland vs. Georgia – 9:00am CT / 5:00pm EEST
Germany vs. Slovenia – 1:00pm CT / 9:00pm EEST

Turkey and Germany are the only two undefeated teams (6-0) in the tournament, with both advancing to the quarterfinals on Saturday following victories over Sweden and Portugal, respectively. Turkey faces Poland, which went 3-2 in the group phase and knocked off Bosnia and Herzegovina for a spot in the quarterfinals, while Germany will take on Slovenia, which ousted Italy.

Serbia and France, which both went 4-1 during the group phase and were among the favorites to medal, both lost in the round of 16. Finland and Georgia pulled off those upsets, and will now meet for a spot in the semifinals.

The teams that were eliminated in the round of 16 have been officially classified as well. Group position was the primary criterion, followed by group phase record and point differential.

France
Serbia
Italy
Latvia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Israel
Portugal
Sweden

Knockout Round Set For EuroBasket; Spain Fails To Qualify

September 4th, 2025 at 4:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Led by a double-double from Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (15 points, 12 rebounds), Bosnia and Herzegovina defeated Georgia by a score of 84-76 on Thursday morning to become the 15th team to qualify for the EuroBasket knockout round, as Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops writes.

Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili finished with a game-high 20 points for Georgia.

Despite the loss, Georgia became the 16th and final team to qualify for the round of 16 later in the day after Spain fell to Greece, FIBA announced (via Twitter). Led by Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had a team-high 25 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists, Greece eked out a 90-86 victory to claim the top spot in Group C.

Spain and Georgia finished with identical 2-3 records in Group C and Spain had a far better point differential (+43 vs. -19), but the Georgians defeated the Spaniards in their head-to-head matchup, earning the tiebreaker.

It’s a disappointing exit for the defending champions — the Spanish national team has been a perennial powerhouse in both European and international competitions, having won four of the previous six EuroBasket tournaments, including the most recent one in 2022. According to Armando Caporaso of Sportando (Twitter link), it has been nearly 50 years since Spain failed to advance past the first stage of the tournament (1977).

The matchups and the full bracket for the EuroBasket’s single-elimination round of 16 have now been set. The breakdown is as follows:

First quarter of bracket:
- Lithuania (B2) vs. Latvia (A3)
- Greece (C1) vs. Israel (D4)
Second quarter:
- Turkey (A1) vs. Sweden (B4)
- Poland (D2) vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (C3)
Third quarter:
- Germany (B1) vs. Portugal (A4)
- Italy (C2) vs. Slovenia (D3)
Fourth quarter:
- Serbia (A2) vs. Finland (B3)
- France (D1) vs. Georgia (C4)

The win-or-go-home games involving teams from Groups A and B will take place on Saturday, while the teams in Groups C and D will square off on Sunday. The full schedule for the weekend, including tip-off times, can be viewed here.

The quarterfinals in the top half of the bracket will be played next Tuesday, followed by the quarterfinals from the bottom half of the bracket on Wednesday. The teams that come out of the first and second quarters will face one another in one of the semifinals next Friday, while the winners of the third and fourth quarters will face off in the other semifinal on the same day. The final will be played on Sunday, September 14.

FIBA has also confirmed the final placement of the teams eliminated prior to the round of 16. Those teams, who were classified based on their group position, overall record, and point differential, were ranked as follows:

Spain (2-3 record, +43 point differential)
Belgium (2-3, -40)
Estonia (1-4, -45)
Montenegro (1-4, -77)
Great Britain (1-4, -130)
Iceland (0-5, -76)
Czechia (0-5, -96)
Cyprus (0-5, -165)

While Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (Spain), Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (Montenegro), and Hawks guard Vit Krejci (Czechia) have been eliminated from the tournament and Wizards center Alex Sarr (France) and Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) have been ruled out due to injuries, the remaining 23 active NBA players in the tournament should all be in action this weekend.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

EuroBasket Notes: Giannis, EuroLeague, FIBA, Micic

September 2nd, 2025 at 10:10pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his native Greece’s EuroBasket group play contest against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday with a sore knee, per Harris Stavrou of SPORT24 (Twitter link).

Stavrou tweets that the two-time NBA MVP’s head coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, expects Antetokounmpo to be available for Greece’s Thursday tilt against Spain — a Greek win in that contest would put the Spaniards in danger of being eliminated before the round of 16.

Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama and former NBA journeyman forward Juancho Hernangomez lead the Spanish national team this summer.

There’s more out of EuroBasket:

The leaders of EuroLeague and FIBA chatted on the sidelines in Cyprus during EuroBasket’s ongoing group play round, according to Eurohoops.net. EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas conferred with FIBA Europe president Jorge Garbajos and secretary general Andreas Zagklis, as chatter continues about a potential European NBA league.
Spanish team coach Sergio Scariolo called out FIBA for its the timing of its doping tests during EuroBasket, writes Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops.net. “Since it’s my last championship and I’m in a position where, after many years in FIBA national basketball, I can advise FIBA not to put doping controls on a team that is playing back-to-back games and finished playing at midnight,” Scariolo said. “This is extremely disrespectful. With so many days available, the doping control could have been scheduled earlier instead of this crazy late-night timing.”
While playing for Serbia, former Hornets guard Vasilije Micic appeared to injured his ribs in the fourth quarter of a clash with the Czech Republic, per Alessandro Maggi of Sportando. Although the Nikola Jokic-led squad had been the heavy favorite to win EuroBasket heading into the tournament, Serbia’s backcourt has struggled with the injury bug so far. Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has already been ruled out for the rest of the competition with a hamstring injury.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo Discusses Re-Signing With Bucks

September 1st, 2025 at 11:55am CST by Rory Maher

Bucks general manager Jon Horst, head coach Doc Rivers and top assistant coach Darvin Ham all attended Greece’s opening EuroBasket victory over Italy on Thursday.

While much of the media attention was centered on the Bucks supporting his two-time MVP younger brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo believes his hustle, energy and defense in the win helped convince Milwaukee to re-sign him, as it was first official contest in more than a year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in May 2024.

“For sure. They were here after the first game against Italy, and they were excited because I was playing defense,” Antetokounmpo said (stories courtesy of Michalis Gioulenoglou of Eurohoops.net and BasketNews.com). “I was doing my job, that’s my role.

“It’s very important for every player who comes back (from a major injury) to prove himself again. Your résumé counts, I’m not saying it doesn’t, but you have to prove yourself every day. That’s professional basketball.

“It’s not that my stress is gone because I found a team. The only thing I’m thinking about now is (Greece’s Tuesday matchup with Bosnia and Herzegovina). I put in a lot of work to be able to return.”

Antetokounmpo, 33, had spent five years with the Bucks prior to suffering the injury, which sidelined him for the entire 2024/25 season. He finished Greece’s win over Italy with six points, three rebounds, one steal and one block in just under 14 minutes of action, including hitting a key three-pointer late in the fourth quarter, per BasketNews.

The Greek national team advanced to the knockout round of EuroBasket 2025 on Sunday, as we relayed in a separate story.