Giannis Antetokounmpo waited years to be in the Olympics. Setbacks aside, it's been 'incredible'

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo has waited a long time to be on the Olympic stage.

So, when the final horn sounded in Greece’s 77-71 win over Australia on Friday to keep alive his country’s hopes of advancing to the knockout round, the first-time Olympian slumped, put a towel over his face and buried his head.

He was exhausted. He’s not ready for this experience to end. Not yet.

“I want to enjoy it as much as I can. Right now, we don’t even know if we are going to be in Paris.” he said. “We wanted to be on this stage for a long time, but we weren’t fortunate enough. I’m trying to enjoy every single day, with my teammates. Like, I remember that game the first day, I texted my wife and I told her ‘I cannot stop smiling.’ It’s just the atmosphere and the vibe is just different.”

Backed by Antetokounmpo, Greece made it to the Paris Games by winning a qualifying tournament earlier this month.

It put Greece back in the Olympic basketball tournament for the first time since it made the 12-team field in Beijing in 2008, and just the fifth time overall. Playing in the Olympics is one of the few things the two-time NBA MVP hadn’t achieved.

It came with another honor he didn’t see coming: being the flag bearer during the opening ceremony.

Antetokounmpo, who led the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 NBA title, reluctantly accepted. He initially asked for Greece captain Kostas Papanikolaou to have the honor instead, but in the end Antetokounmpo is glad he did it.

The trip down the Seine only deepened his appreciation for representing his country.

“Just the energy from the moment that we went to the ceremony and, with all Greek athletes and, teammates and lifting up the flag and seeing people come out and in Paris to say that they got to cheer for us — and going back and competing in the games and see how the crowds get into it and, how people are really competing,” he said. “It really heightens the stage. It’s incredible.”

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He was also thinking about his father, Charles Antetokounmpo, who died of a heart attack in 2017 — before Giannis won the first of his back-to-back NBA MVP trophies in 2019.

“It was the biggest assignment I have ever done in my life,” Giannis said. “I know my father is watching from heaven and he’s dancing about this. I might win another championship, but I might never carry the flag again. It was a great experience I will never forget.”

Even after a 86-79 loss to Canada to open the tournament, followed by an 84-77 setback to Spain, Antetokounmpo said he arrived at Pierre Mauroy Stadium on Friday still relishing another shot to have a moment to savor on the court.

“I’m happy that I’m here. I don’t take it for granted. I would enjoy it to the fullest,” he said. “You never know if you’re going to have this opportunity. It took me 16 years to get here. So maybe in 16 years, I will be how old? I will be 45 years old.”

“Maybe gold?” a reporter chimed in.

“No, no, no,” the 29-year-old Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t know. I just want to enjoy it. I’m just happy that I see my kids out there and they’re able to see me compete on this stage. And I can tell them the stories about how it was.”