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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:

  1. Spain (2-3 record, +43 point differential)
  2. Belgium (2-3, -40)
  3. Estonia (1-4, -45)
  4. Montenegro (1-4, -77)
  5. Great Britain (1-4, -130)
  6. Iceland (0-5, -76)
  7. Czechia (0-5, -96)
  8. 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.

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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.
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Greece, Poland Advance To EuroBasket Round Of 16

August 31st, 2025 at 6:55pm CST by Rory Maher

The men’s national teams of Greece and Poland have advanced to the round of 16 at EuroBasket 2025, according to FIBA, joining Finland, Germany, Serbia and Turkey as clubs that have qualified.

Greece (Group C) and Poland (Group D) have both gone undefeated through three of their five group phase games. Greece moved on today with a win and a Cyprus loss (0-3).

The Greek squad, led by two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (27 points on 9-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds, four assists in 25 minutes), cruised to a 41-point victory over Georgia, notes Eurohoops. Georgia essentially threw in the towel before the game even began, resting center Goga Bitadze (DNP-CD) and forward Tornike Shengelia (under four minutes of action).

“We had two options, to go to what’s 100% for us, or to try to keep ourselves healthy for the last two games,” Georgian coach Aleksandar Džikić said postgame. “We decided to follow the second option. It was my decision, and we know what our goal is. We don’t like it, my players don’t like it, but today it was the smart thing to do.”

The Poles advanced to the knockout round by outlasting Iceland (0-3) in a close game on Sunday, per Sportando. Poland was once again led by ex-NBA guard Jordan Loyd (game-high 26 points) and veteran EuroLeague wing Mateusz Ponitka (18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists) — both players have had excellent showings to this point.

In case you missed it, Antetokounmpo will reportedly remain with Milwaukee to open the 2025/26 season after the team re-signed his older brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo to a guaranteed minimum-salary contract. Thanasis is also competing for Team Greece.

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Giannis To Start Season With Bucks After Team Re-Signs Brother Thanasis

August 31st, 2025 at 1:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

In a move to solidify Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s desire to stay with the Bucks, the franchise is re-signing his brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, on a guaranteed one-year, $2.9MM (minimum-salary) contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link).

The signing is official, according to a team press release relayed by The Athletic’s Eric Nehm (Twitter link).

According to Charania, after a summer of exploring options, Giannis Antetokounmpo — who is currently playing for Greece in the EuroBasket tournament — is staying in Milwaukee to start the season. This will quell speculation that the superstar might request a trade this offseason.

Naturally, if things don’t go well for the Bucks as the season progresses, that could always change. But having his brother back in the fold gives Giannis some added incentive to stay put.

Thanasis is also playing for Greece in the tournament. He was medically cleared to play again this spring after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.

The 32-year-old underwent surgery in early May of 2024 after tearing his Achilles. He was a free agent this past season after signing mainly minimum contracts to play with his brother in Milwaukee.

Thanasis, who made two appearances with the Knicks in 2015/16, saw action in 196 Bucks games from 2019-24.  He played 34 games during the 2023/24 season and has posted averages of 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per contest over the course of his NBA career.

The Bucks will now have 15 players on guaranteed contracts, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. This could put Andre Jackson Jr.‘s roster status in jeopardy — the former UConn guard has an $800K guarantee on his $2,221,677 contract. It becomes fully guaranteed if he makes the opening night roster.

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Rivers, Ham, Spanoulis Discuss Antetokounmpo At EuroBasket

August 29th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

Giannis Antetokounmpo led Team Greece to a win in their EuroBasket opener against Italy on Thursday, scoring 31 points in a 75-66 victory. In attendance for that victory were Bucks general manager Jon Horst, head coach Doc Rivers, and assistant coaches Vin Baker and Darvin Ham, writes Michalis Gioulenoglou of EuroHoops.

After the game, Rivers spoke about the experience of watching his star compete for the Greek national team.

“I love watching the movement and how they play,” he said, as relayed by Giorgos Kyriakidis of BasketNews. “I always steal plays, I watch it, and I take some of these plays back home and I run them. Yeah, I love all the movement, all the elbow action.”

Rivers, who is planning on staying to watch at least one more of Antetokounmpo’s games, noted that the two-time MVP tends to operate out of the post more at EuroBasket than in the NBA. Ham elaborated on some of the other differences he’s seen.

“He’s trying to involve his teammates and allow his teammates to help him help them,” said Ham. “It’s more team-oriented, more sets, and all of that here is different. They don’t play as fast as we do in the NBA, but in the NBA, his usage rate is off the charts. He constantly has the ball in his hands, so a little bit different role for him over there.”

While Ham was clear that Antetokounmpo is an unselfish player regardless of the situation, he summed it up in a simple sentence: “With us, he has to be Superman.”

Antetokounmpo’s Greek team coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, also answered questions about the star player and whether he’d be load-managed during games that might not be as crucial for the Hellas, according to Gioulenoglou.

“Giannis can play as much as I want him to play, we are in the official games now and there’s no limitations anymore,” Spanoulis said.

When asked about the experience of coaching Antetokounmpo this year versus prior years, Spanoulis saw a clear difference in approach despite the same personality he’s used to.

“He is more vocal this year. He is very humble for his status and the kind of player he is, and that extends off the court,” he said. “He wants to win, he wants to get this team to another level. He listens, but he can also lead the team in his own way.”

Team Greece, which most recently won the EuroBasket tournament in 2005, will next face off against Cyrpus on Saturday, followed by a matchup with Georgia on Sunday.

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28 Current NBA Players Competing In FIBA EuroBasket 2025

August 27th, 2025 at 7:07am CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024, the 2025 NBA offseason doesn’t feature a major international tournament in which the United States’ top stars are competing.

However, several of the league’s biggest names – including three-time Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and five-time All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic – are taking part in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which tipped off on Wednesday.

The tournament, also known as the European Basketball Championship, takes place every four years and features 24 European countries vying for a gold medal. The 24 teams who qualified for EuroBasket are split up into four groups and will face the other teams in their group across five games from August 27 to September 4.

At the end of group play, the top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout round, which is a single-elimination tournament featuring the remaining 16 countries.

By our count, 28 active NBA players are taking part in EuroBasket 2025, along with 30 former NBA players and several more who were selected in an NBA draft but have yet to play in the league.

Here’s the full list of current and former NBA players set to compete in EuroBasket, sorted by group and country:

Group A

Czechia (Czech Republic)

  • Current NBA players: Vit Krejci (Hawks)
  • Former NBA players: None

Estonia

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Henri Drell

Latvia

Portugal

  • Current NBA players: Neemias Queta (Celtics)
  • Former NBA players: None

Serbia

Serbia’s roster also includes Nikola Milutinov and Vanja Marinkovic, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Turkey

Group B

Finland

Germany

Great Britain

Lithuania

Lithuania’s roster also includes Rokas Jokubaitis, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league, and Azuolas Tubelis, who was on a two-way contract with the Sixers during the 2023 offseason but was waived before the season began.

Montenegro

Sweden

  • Current NBA players: Pelle Larsson (Heat)
  • Former NBA players: None

Group C

Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Current NBA players: Jusuf Nurkic (Jazz)
  • Former NBA players: None

Cyprus

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Georgia

Greece

Italy

Italy’s roster also includes Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida, and Saliou Niang, who are former NBA draft picks but have never played in the league.

Spain

Group D

Belgium

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

France

France’s roster also includes Isaia Cordinier, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Iceland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel

  • Current NBA players: Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers)
  • Former NBA players: None

Israel’s roster also includes Yam Madar, a former NBA draft pick who has never played in the league.

Poland

  • Current NBA players: None
  • Former NBA players: Jordan Loyd

Slovenia

  • Current NBA players: Luka Doncic (Lakers)
  • Former NBA players: None
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And-Ones: Award Predictions, Top Forwards, Free Agency, Cui

August 26th, 2025 at 7:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Will Nikola Jokic win a fourth Most Valuable Player award in 2025/26? He’s the top choice among a panel of ESPN Insiders to capture the league’s top individual honor next season. Luka Doncic ranks as the second pick, with reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting the third-most votes.

The panel also offers their predictions on five other major awards, including Rookie of the Year (no surprise, they picked No. 1 draft choice Cooper Flagg) and Sixth Man of the Year (Alex Caruso and Naz Reid received the most votes}.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • Who’s the top forward in the NBA? Giannis Antetokounmpo is in a class of his own, according to The Athletic’s Zach Harper. The Bucks superstar holds the tier-one level all by himself in “The Bounce’s Top 40 Forwards.” Jayson Tatum, Paolo Banchero and Zion Williamson are in the tier-two “Still Elite, Just Not Giannis” level. Heading up the group of six players who round out the top 10 and start the tier-three level is Draymond Green.
  • Free agency isn’t what it used to be in the NBA, with most star players signing extensions before they ever reach that point. HoopsHype’s Alberto De Roa examines the decline in free agency’s importance, noting that only one player this summer who changed teams — new Bucks center Myles Turner — secured a contract with at least $100MM in guaranteed money.
  • Cui Yongxi – also known as Jacky Cui – is working toward an NBA comeback after tearing his ACL in December with the G League’s Long Island Nets, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. He has been working out in Brooklyn and is now participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages in Los Angeles. The 22-year-old free agent guard had been on a two-way contract and appeared in five games with the Nets but was waived by Brooklyn in December following the injury.
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EuroBasket Notes: Wagner, Giannis, Risacher, Doncic

August 25th, 2025 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Germany made a huge statement by going unbeaten on its way to the 2023 FIBA World Cup title, and a win at EuroBasket would cement its status as an international basketball power. Magic forward Franz Wagner talked to reporters, including Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops, about what another major championship would mean for his nation’s basketball program.

“It would be a massive achievement,” Wagner said. “I think winning anything is super difficult. I think winning something for your country, obviously, is super special. We felt that two years ago, and we’re doing everything we can to have that feeling again and bring home a gold medal for your country.”

Germany is a huge favorite to advance out of Group B, which also includes Great Britain, Lithuania, Sweden, Montenegro and host Finland. The pressure ratchets up in the knockout stage, with single-elimination games being played from September 6-14 in Riga, Latvia.

“I think every do-or-die game, and especially national team games, when you play for your country, and especially when the time you have with the team is kind of short or way shorter than during a season with a team, I think those games are always super physical and every player is putting it all out there,” Wagner said.

On the tournament format, he added, “I think that’s what makes those games super fun to play and hopefully fun to watch as well.”

There’s more from EuroBasket:

  • Rival players are raving about the impact that Giannis Antetokounmpo has for Greece, according to a story on the FIBA website. Willy Hernangomez says the Bucks star “tries to destroy everyone in front of him,” and Spanish teammate Santi Aldama claims Antetokounmpo takes his intensity to a different level when he’s part of the Greek national team. “He always talks about how he plays hard every single day,” Aldama said. “And seeing an MVP-level player play as hard as he does every day … and him having the pride to play for his country every summer you can see it’s different when he plays for his country. And he takes a lot of pride in playing for his country.”
  • In an interview with Christos Tsaltas of Athletiko, Zaccharie Risacher talks about the things he learned during his rookie season with the Hawks that have made him a better player. Risacher may need to take on a larger role for France with several important teammates unavailable, and he said he’s willing to do whatever is asked of him. “I want to contribute to my team so that it wins as many games as it can and contribute in any way I can,” Risacher said. “With defense, with scoring, with rebounds. I’m a versatile player and I have to make sure I’ve adapted and I can do the right thing and make the right phase at the right time to help as much as I can.”
  • Lakers star Luka Doncic delivered a fiery locker room speech after Slovenia lost to Serbia by 34 points in an exhibition game, relays BasketNews. “I don’t like to talk about what’s going on in the team. Yes, we had a conversation,” teammate Edo Muric said. “We cleared up a lot of things and said what needed to be said. This defeat actually brought us even closer.”
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Team Greece Finalizes EuroBasket Roster

August 24th, 2025 at 9:59pm CST by Eli Cohen

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.

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Rockets’ GM Says Bucks Weren’t Willing To Discuss Major Deal

August 23rd, 2025 at 7:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the target of trade speculation ever since the Bucks were ousted in the first round of the playoffs, but a rival general manager indicated that Milwaukee hasn’t been willing to discuss deals involving the two-time MVP.

Appearing Friday on ESPN Radio’s Houston affiliate (YouTube link, hat tip to Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire), Rockets GM Rafael Stone said he wasn’t able to make any headway on a major deal with the Bucks. League rules preclude Stone from commenting on specific players, but he responded to a question from the hosts about “the big man from Greece in Milwaukee.”

“I deal well with (Bucks general manager) Jon Horst, I really like him,” Stone said. “Jon was very clear that they weren’t doing anything. So that was that.”

Numerous stories have indicated that the Bucks don’t plan to pursue an Antetokounmpo trade unless he requests one. There have been multiple reports this summer that Antetokounmpo is still assessing his future in Milwaukee to determine if he can win a title there, but he hasn’t made any public comments to indicate that he wants out.

Antetokounmpo is currently focused on representing Greece in EuroBasket, which ends a couple weeks before the start of NBA training camps, so it’s probably too late in the offseason for him to ask for a trade. His current contract runs through the 2026/27 season, and he holds a $62.8MM player option for the following year.

Horst has been aggressively maneuvering to keep the Bucks in title contention in an effort to convince Antetokounmpo to stay. With Damian Lillard lost for next season with an Achilles tear, Horst waived and stretched the $112.6MM that Lillard had left on his contract for the next two years, creating enough cap space to sign center Myles Turner away from Indiana.

Horst also added Gary Harris, Jericho Sims and Cole Anthony through free agency and re-signed free agents Bobby Portis, Gary Trent Jr., Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins and Taurean Prince.

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