(Basketball news) The availability of a certain two-time NBA MVP is widely acknowledged as being the most important aspect of Greece’s success at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Giannis Antetokounmpo was added to the Team Greece extended roster prior to the international competition. The Bucks star’s participation in the FIBA Basketball World Cup is uncertain, though, as he had surgery on his left knee earlier this summer.

Antetokounmpo declared on August 11 that he would not participate in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Antetokounmpo stated that he is not physically prepared to play for Team Greece in a message made on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. 

Antetokounmpo said Everyone is aware of my unwavering devotion for and love of my National Team. I’ve been working hard to become the player I need to be to assist our team reach the objectives we’ve set since the end of my NBA season. However, it is obvious that I am not prepared to compete at the level I need to be in order to compete in the World Cup after months of effort and numerous discussions with medical staff. 

In order to ensure that I return to the level of basketball I have worked so hard to accomplish thus far in my career, this was not only my only option, it was also my only choice. Although we made this choice in consultation with the medical team, I am quite dissatisfied in the outcome. I’m going to keep working hard so that I’m prepared when my name is called the next time. It will be an honor to represent my National Team next year if we achieve our ultimate team goal of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic games.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Eric Nehm, and Joe Vardon claimed in the beginning of July that Antetokounmpo underwent a procedure on his left knee to “clean up loose cartilage.” Later that month, he was added to Greece’s 22-man roster, but he didn’t play in any of the group’s pre-tournament matches.

Team Greece roster for 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup:

Player 

Kostas Antetokounmpo 

Thanasis Antetokounmpo

Dimitris Agravanis

Lefteris Bochoridis

Manos Chatzidakis

Nikos Chougkaz

Dimitris Flionis

Panagiotis Kalaitzakis

Giannoulis Larentzakis

Michalis Lountzis

Lefteris Mantzoukas

Dino Mitoglou

Dimitris Moraitis

Georgios Papagiannis

Kostas Papanikolaou

Ioannis Papapetrou

Nikos Rogkavopoulos

Vasilis Toliopoulos

Georgios Tsalmpouris

Thomas Walkup

Vangelis Zoug

Team Greece schedule at 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup:

Also read: Austin Reaves’s performance for Team USA could be a World Cup deciding factor