By Aris Barkas and Stavros Barbarousis/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo has already missed the marquee preparation game in Cyprus against Serbia and Nikola Jokic, and he is not expected to play on Thursday (14/8) in Thessaloniki against Montenegro.
His absence from the Greek national team games so far has fueled speculation, ranging from issues with his insurance to the possibility of him missing the upcoming Eurobasket entirely.
However, this is not the case. The Greek national team and Giannis are waiting for the written permission of the Bucks, which will allow the Greek Freak to follow the full schedule of the team.
Giannis is eager to play; however, his situation is special, like it happens with very few players of the upcoming Eurobasket, namely Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.
According to the FIBA-NBA agreement, each NBA player is allowed to join the training camp of his national team 28 days before the start of a major FIBA tournament. Greece starts the Eurobasket on the 28th of August, so Giannis should have been available for the 1st of August.
Per Eurohoops sources, due to his contract, the Bucks have to give their permission, because the insurance policy of FIBA, which is already taken care of by the Greek federation, doesn’t cover his full annual compensation in case of an injury. There’s a cap on the insurance contract, and Giannis, Jokic, and Doncic are some of the very few non-US players who are paid well over this limit.
It’s obvious that the Greek side was expecting Giannis to be available both against Serbia, the strongest test of the team before the EuroBasket, and Montenegro. Giannis even traveled with the team to Thessaloniki, despite not being expected to play.
On the other hand, the Bucks are allowed to protect their asset, and this creates a very delicate balance. After all, even Doncic and Jokic, who have already appeared in prep games, are protected when there’s no need for them to be pressured to play.
In any case, the issue hopefully will be resolved sooner rather than later, with Giannis expected to be present in the last prep games of the Greek national team, during the Acropolis tournament, and the matchup against France on the 24th of August, the last game before the start of the Eurobasket.