Team USA is about to meet a formidable foe in the Basketball World Cup.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be playing for Greece and against two of his Milwaukee Bucks teammates on the USA roster, and it will be a challenge for Team USA to face its own Most Valuable Player on the opposite side of the court.
“This is a special situation,” said Team USA centre Brook Lopez, who won 60 games alongside Giannis in the USA.
READ MORE: Brazil’s 79-78 FIBA World Cup win over Greece due to goal-tending allowed by FIBA
Team Brazil coach Aleksandar Petrovic said he plotted for six months as to how he was going to deal with Antetokounmpo and came up with a surprise game plan to use Alex Garcia, 39, as primary defender with the task of knocking Antetokounmpo out of his game.
READ MORE: Narrow win against Tall Blacks pits Greece against the United States
Much of the build-up to the Team USA vs Greece game is focused on Antetokoumpo, however the players are experienced enough to know that they should not spend too much time locking in on one player. Even so, there’s a chance that Team USA coach may have a plot of his own as to how to neutralise Giannis up his sleeve.