On Wednesday, there will be a “Greek” night held in the NBA, referring to the encounter between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Memphis Grizzlies, where three Greek players will appear on the court. Bucks rookie, Giannis Antetokoumpo will face Memphis center, Kostas Koufos tonight and the point guard, Nick Calathes. Both Koufos and Calathes were born in the U.S. but also have Greek citizenship and play for the Greek national team.
The “Greek Freak” as they call Giannis Antetokounmpo, due to his dominant physical appearance and athletic skills has already wrote in his blog, that he is excited to play against the other two Greek NBAers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was born in Greece, also said that he is optimistic about his older brother’s future, Thanasis, and that he eventually will join him in the NBA. Thanasis Antetokounmpo is currently playing in the D-League as a Delaware 87ers player and will be eligible for the 2014 NBA draft.
“We talk every day, one or two hours,” Antetokounmpo said before Monday’s game in Toronto. “I’m happy for him.”
“He’s learning a lot. The coach is throwing plenty of stuff at him you know. He’s played a lot of minutes. I hope he adjusts and will do well this season.”
As Thanasis is eligible for the next draft, he cannot be called up by an NBA team this season.
In 19 games with Delaware, Thanasis has averaged 11.7 points and 3.9 rebounds while playing more than 30 minutes per game.
Both Giannis and Thanasis played for Filathlitikos in Greece’s second division last season.
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