Dinos Mitoglou

Team Greece Finalizes EuroBasket Roster

Greece officially announced its finalized national team roster on Sunday. The EuroBasket tournament is tipping off this week, with the Hellas tipping off Group Play in a bracket with Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, Georgia, and Cyprus as part of Group C. Their first game will be against Italy on August 28.

Giannis Antetokounmpo will headline the team as the lone NBA player on the roster. The two-time MVP is coming off an All-NBA First Team season in which he averaged 30.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game.

While Antetokounmpo is the only player on the roster who is still in the league, the Greek team boasts a handful of former NBAers who now play in Europe, including two of Antetokounmpo’s brothers. Here is the complete list of players who will represent Greece in EuroBasket:

Outside of the trio of brothers, Dorsey and Papanikolaou are likely the two names most familiar to NBA fans. Dorsey played 107 games over three seasons, starting 16 of them, and averaged 6.6 points on 35.1% three-point shooting. Papanikolaou played two seasons, one with the Rockets and one with the Nuggets, averaging 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per night.

The 20-year-old Samodurov is another interesting name to watch after being named to the All-Star Five in FIBA’s Under-20 tournament this season. A 6’10” center, Samadurov averaged 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.4 blocks in the seven games Greece played.

Antetokounmpo recently began official work with the team, following a delay related to the size of his contract relative to FIBA’s insurance policy for players.

He played in the team’s exhibition game against France, which Greece lost 92-77 as Antetokounmpo scored 18 points on seven shots in just under 22 minutes. Team Greece ended the exhibition games with a record of 4-3.

Serbia, Greece Set 12-Man Rosters For Olympics

Two more nations have set their 12-man rosters for the upcoming Olympic games in Paris, with Serbia and Greece both officially announcing their squads (Twitter links).

The Serbian roster is headlined by three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and includes a few more NBA players beyond the Nuggets center. Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, Hornets guard Vasilije Micic, and Heat forward Nikola Jovic will also represent Serbia in Paris.

Jovic’s inclusion is particularly notable, since there was some uncertainty earlier this month about whether he’d be healthy enough to play. He injured his ankle during an offseason workout in Miami in June, but has apparently received medical clearance for the Olympics.

Nikola Milutinov, Ognjen Dobric, Vanja Marinkovic, Marko Guduric, Filip Petrusev, Aleksa Avramovic, Dejan Davidovac, and Uros Plavsic round out Serbia’s roster. Former NBA first-round pick Aleksej Pokusevski, who finished last season with the Hornets, isn’t among the final 12.

Meanwhile, Greece has also confirmed its Olympic roster, which will be led by another former NBA MVP, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis is the only Antetokounmpo suiting up for Greece in France at this year’s event, since his brothers Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Kostas Antetokounmpo are both dealing with injuries.

While Giannis is the only active NBA player on the Greek roster, a few others have previously played in the league, including Nick Calathes, Georgios Papagiannis, and Kostas Papanikolaou. Former Stephen F. Austin standout Thomas Walkup also signed an NBA contract back in 2016, though he never appeared in a regular season game.

Dinos Mitoglou, Giannoulis Larentzakis, Vassilis Charalampopoulos, Nikos Chougkaz, Dimitris Moraitis, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, and Vassilis Toliopoulos make up the rest of Greece’s roster.

Serbia’s first pool-play game of the Olympics will take place on Sunday vs. Team USA, while Greece’s Olympic schedule will tip off a day earlier, with a Saturday showdown vs. Canada.