FIBA’s EuroBasket tournament gives us a chance to see some of the best basketball talents in the world on display. If you need your fix between NBA seasons, now is your chance. One of the premier talents in the world will show his stuff on Thursday as Giannis Antetokounmpo suits up for Greece against Italy to start the group stage.
The Greeks are 5.5-point favorites and hold -245 odds on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The total is set at 162.5 points. Let’s examine the top player prop bets for Giannis in this Greece–Italy matchup.
Best Giannis Antetokounmpo Player Prop
Let’s get this out of the way now: few NBA teams are equipped to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo. He just finished his third straight season averaging 30+ PPG. Now he gets to face European teams that have some NBA talent, but cannot field the kind of defenders that can stop him.
Examining his history in European/world competitions reveals a track record of utter dominance. Giannis averaged 29.3 PPG at the last EuroBasket in 2022. In the 2023 FIBA qualifiers, he put up 33.0 PPG. The Paris Olympics followed that in 2024, where the two-time NBA MVP averaged 27.0 PPG against the best of the best. The task at hand for Italy’s squad is clear-cut, and I don’t think they’re ready to contain the Greek Freak.
Giannis will be the tallest player on the floor in this game at 6’11”. Italy has two players above 6’9″: Danilo Gallinari, who is 37 and not much of a defender, and Mouhamet Diouf, a center who averaged just over one block per 40 minutes. That’s a rough back line when you’re trying to handle the best big man driver in the world.
They also don’t have the athleticism or size on the wings to help on his drives. Digs, tags, and stunts won’t be effective defensive tactics on Giannis. There will be fouls aplenty, and the Greek superstar will spend a lot of time at the free-throw line. Even with Antetokounmpo’s line being set at 30 points, I’m counting on Giannis to deliver.
