Giannis Antetokounmpo Brought to Tears After Greece Qualifies for His First Olympics

The Bucks star left it all out on the court on Sunday.

Screengrab on Twitter/ @FIBA

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t hold back his emotions after the Greece national team booked its ticket to the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Antetokounmpo has won nearly every award in the NBA imaginable—an NBA championship in 2021, a Finals MVP, two league MVPs, a Defensive Player of the year award, eight All-Star nods—but now he’ll get his long-awaited opportunity to compete at the international level with his native country.

Antetokounmpo led Greece to a 80-69 win over Croatia in the final of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Sunday, helping the team reach its first Olympics since 2008. It will be Antetokounmpo’s first Olympics appearance of his career.

Sunday’s win meant everything to him. Postgame cameras caught the Bucks star holding his head in his hands and wiping away tears as his son appeared to try to comfort him on the court.

What it means for Giannis 🥹#FIBAOQT pic.twitter.com/rpacKTH6PA

— FIBA (@FIBA) July 7, 2024

Antetokounmpo finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the victory over Croatia, which came a day after he helped Greece defeat Luka Doncic and Slovenia in a dominant 28-point blowout win in the semifinals. He averaged 30.4 points and 11.5 rebounds per game last season in Milwaukee but sat out all of the Bucks’ six-game postseason due to a calf strain.

Greece will compete in Group A alongside Australia, Canada and Spain this summer. Their first opening stage game will be against Canada on July 27.