Giannis, Thanasis and Kostas Antetokounmpo are in Greece's 18-man squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup, which will be held in China from August 31 to September 15.
For the first time the three brothers have all been summoned to represent the Greek national team together. This is also Kostas' first time representing his country at the senior international stage.
Head coach Thanasis Skourtopoulos spoke about Kostas’ inclusion stating “we decided to invite Kostas Antetokounmpo because we have been following his progression. We have high expectations for him, and if he starts to become more involved with the national team, there will be a lot of benefits for us.” Kostas made his NBA debut for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2018/2019 season.
The NBA's Most Valuable Player this season is expected to lead the team.
However, there is no place in the team for Kosta Koufos. At the moment, Koufos is searching for a contract in the NBA after his deal with the Sacramento Kings expired, and reports on gazzetta.gr revealed that the 30-year-old has consistently ignored calls from Skourtopoulos. As a result, he has been left out of the squad.
Full 18-man preliminary Greece roster for the 2019 FIBA World Cup:
PG: Nick Calathes, Kostas Sloukas, Antonis Koniaris, Vangelis Mantzaris.
SG: Giannoulis Larentzakis, Tyler Dorsey, Giannis Athinaiou.
SF: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Kostas Papanikolaou, Ioannis Papapetrou, Christos Saloustros.
PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Giorgos Printezis, Konstantinos Mitoglou, Panagiotis Vasilopoulos.
C: Giannis Bourousis, Giorgos Papagiannis, Kostas Antetokounmpo.
The players will gather for a training camp on July 24. Between the 9th and 11th of August, the Episimi Agapimeni will host a friendly tournament in Crete against Hungary and Iran, before holding another competition in Athens with Italy, Serbia and Turkey from August 16-18. The Greeks will complete their preparations with matches against China, Jordan and either Turkey or Senegal on Chinese soil.
Greece will compete in Group F at the World Cup in China against New Zealand, Brazil and Montenegro. The tournament will be held from August 31 to September 15.
*Photo credit- antetokounbros_tv