Giannis Antetokounmpo’s coach rips Alperen Sengun over passer comments

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Giannis Antetokounmpo’s coach rips Alperen Sengun over passer comments

Tomer Azarly, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Wed, Sep 17, 2025 ·

5 min read

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The post Giannis Antetokounmpo's coach rips Alperen Sengun over passer comments appeared first on ClutchPoints .

The 2025 EuroBasket final between Germany and Turkey was a thrilling game that went down to the final seconds, with the Germans taking home gold. But days later, fans are still talking about Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and Houston Rockets star Alperen Sengun following the Greece-Turkey semifinal game.

Turkey defeated Greece handily, 94-68, in the EuroBasket semifinals and advanced to the gold medal game to take on Germany. Alperen Sengun recorded 15 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and two steals in the win for Turkey, who was led by Ercan Osmani's game-high 28 points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had his quietest game of the tournament , finishing with just 12 points, 12 rebound,, five assists, and two blocked shots in 30 minutes of play. Turkey's gameplan, headed by coach Ergin Ataman, clearly attempted to make the Bucks star a passer and force his teammates to make shots. That didn't work out great for Greece, who shot just 8-of-24 from three in the game and turned the ball over 22 times in the 40-minute contest.

Following the win, Alperen Sengun was asked about the defensive gameplan for a player many consider unstoppable in Antetokounmpo.

"We just put Ercan [Osmani] on him and we helped as much we can," the Rockets star said. "Ercan did a great job today. Of course, Giannis is one of the best players in the world. We just tried to help Ercan and think we did a good job. He's not a great passer. He's an amazing player but he's not a great passer. We just tried to help, jump, and close the paint."

It's hard not to take that as disrespectful, and the basketball world quickly ran with Sengun's comments as a slight to the NBA Champion, NBA Finals MVP, and two-time NBA regular season MVP.

Greece defeated Finland in the bronze medal game, claiming the last medal and reaching the podium for the first time since 2009. Following the victory, Greek head coach Vassilis Spanoulis took time to address Sengun's comments .

"I want to say about the previous question you had for Giannis: Sengun is a very small kid to talk about Giannis," Spanoulis said. "Second, he has to know that because we hear a lot of different ideas from people that don't have any idea about basketball [saying], 'that Turkey team, they locked Giannis.' This is bullsh-t. We were not on a good day. They played the same defense to Giannis. He missed four times a layup. He found his teammates more than six times, but we didn't score. So I don't want to hear this bullshit. This is bullshit. This is for media and for you that a lot of people that don't have any idea about basketball."

Spanoulis didn't stop there , giving Turkey credit while defending his country's star.

"Some of you, you've never caught a basketball," Spanoulis added. "I'm a man that always says the truth. I respect [Turkey] coach [Ergin] Ataman. We have a very good relationship, we are friends, we exchange opinions, and he's a great coach. But it's another story when I hear all these stories. It makes me mad because it's not the truth and it's not fair. We had an unbelievable tournament. We put ourselves in this situation. We had ourselves a bad game in the semifinal. We give our hand to Turkey because they played better in this game, they made everything and that's it. Basketball is a sport. Like life, if you win or you lose, it's one game. It's not a series to make adjustments and go on. We give our hand, they played better in this game, that's it. Finished."

Spanoulis, a former player for the Greek national team with a 19-year playing career in Europe, was never asked about the comments, but defended Giannis Antetokounmpo. It's no surprise that Giannis returned the favor moments later in the press conference.

"I don't want to put you in a tough spot coach, but if Coach [Vassilis] Spanoulis is not here, I'm not here," Antetokounmpo said . "The moment he's here, I'm here. It's as simple as that. He brings the best out of me, he brings the best out of the team, and he has a winning mentality. I just want to be able to be with people that have greatness and people that have been there before and people that know what it takes to win and people that know how to push their best players and the whole team."

Greece and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo finished EuroBasket 2025 averaging 27.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 68.5 percent from the field.

The two-time NBA MVP will enter the 2025-26 season with a mountain of responsibility on his plate following the injury and trade of Damian Lillard . Giannis Antetokounmpo has averaged at least 30 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in each of his last three seasons with the Bucks, playing a total of 203 games.

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