The prestige of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup is in danger once again as another high-profile cager is reportedly uncertain to participate.
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is doubtful to charge Greece in the upcoming World Cup in the Philippines as he is dealing with a leg injury, per SDNA’s Magic EuroLeague.
According to the report, Antetokounmpo is determined to play for his country, but the Bucks are expected to bar him from landing in the world championship unless he is fully healthy.
Added by SDNA, the probability for the two-time NBA MVP to play in the World Cup stands at less than 50 percent for now.
Antetokounmpo also notably sustained a lower back injury in Milwaukee’s first-round opener against the Miami Heat in the previous Playoffs. The pain kept him for two-straight games of the series, and ultimately impacted the club’s historic meltdown over the Heat, becoming just the sixth first-seeded team to collapse in front of an eight-seed in the league’s history books.
Rui Hachimura (Japan) and 2023 NBA top overall pick Victor Wembanyama (France) have already declared their ineligibility to play for their respective basketball federations. Meanwhile, the status of Finals MVP Nikola Jokic remains yet to be determined, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic has recently relayed that a family celebration of the Denver Nuggets icon will collide with the schedule of the World Cup which will run through Aug. 25 to Sept. 10.
The Greeks are slated to grace the court of Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena as part of Group C as they were landed with the United States, New Zealand, and Jordan.
