Why did Giannis cry after getting his national team qualified for the Paris Olympics?

The Greek national basketball team qualified for the Olympic Games after a 16-year break. The team’s star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, was the center of the media attention during the entire qualification in Piraeus. After Vasilis Spanoulis’ selection won, Giannis again showed how important the national jersey is to him.

Very emotional, with his children and surrounded by his family, Giannis celebrated his placement at the Games at the end of the game. No matter how much success he had with the Bucks, the Greek basketball “ambassador” has repeatedly shown how important it is to him to be part of the national team’s success.

At Piraeus, everything came together for the Greeks, creating a great atmosphere and showcasing the coaching success of the legendary Vasilis Spanoulis, who obviously shares a special relationship with the players.

The reason for the tears

Greece secured a spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics after winning the pre-Olympic tournament in Piraeus. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nick Calathes, and Georgios Papagiannis, Greece’s return to the Olympics comes after 16 years, following their fifth-place finish in Beijing 2008.

This is an enormous feat for the team, who had struggled to qualify after their earlier successes in this millennium, including winning for the first time against an NBA-selected USA team at their home Olympics in Athens 2004, winning gold in Eurobasket 2005, earning a world silver in 2006, and securing a European bronze in 2009.

Despite the lack of important achievements in recent years, Greece aims to make up for lost time and elevate its performance with the leadership of Vassilis Spanoulis on the bench and a more experienced Antetokounmpo, who was chosen as the MVP of the tournament. In the final match against Croatia, Antetokounmpo’s outstanding performance of 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists in 28 minutes led Greece to an 80-69 victory.