“S**ked at those defenses”—Jusuf Nurkic fuels on-court rivalry with Giannis Antetokounmpo after ripping the 9-time NBA All-Star’s Eurobasket gameplay | NBA News – The Times of India

Eurobasket 2025 entered its 4th week out of 5 on September 1st. Greece put up impressive gameplay, racking up wins across all the previous weeks. They are scheduled to face Bosnia and Herzegovina on September 2. So far, Greece has secured a spot in the round of 16, while there are still two more games to go. While both teams are gearing up to face each other, Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic made a bold statement about the forward player Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis led Greece to their victory in the previous matches and plays a crucial role within the team.

Utah Jazz star Jusuf Nurkic comments on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s tactics

On Monday, Jusuf Nurkic was asked about his upcoming match against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece. The long-term rival took the opportunity to point out a flaw in Giannis’ gameplay tactics. Jusuf stated, “I think it’s different. Now he’s playing more at the 5. Obviously, he will have to defend too.”Jusuf talked about his team, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s strategy for their upcoming match, “But at the end of the day, just stop him in transition and live with his shots. Generally, he’s sucked at those defenses the last few years he’s played in EuroBasket. But it’s not only him, so we will be ready.”The rules are very different between the NBA and the EuroBasket. With a smaller court, the European games focus more on half-court plays rather than fast breaks. The court being smaller, it becomes difficult for someone like Giannis to attack the rim. Taking advantage of the situation, Jusuf further stated, “We can’t allow so many threes. When we build the wall, we’ve got to still protect the three-point line. That’s going to be a key. Slow him down on the fast break, which is his number one thing to do.”Regardless, the duo, Jusuf and Giannis, shared a rivalry since their face-offs in the NBA. The Utah Jazz faced the Milwaukee Bucks several times and their rivalry is the talk of the town.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finds himself in controversy after a slapping clip went viral

Giannis Antetokounmpo found himself deep in a slapping controversy ahead of the Eurobasket tournament 2025. The Greek team faced the Montenegro’s men’s basketball team in an exhibition match. Greece won the match with the final scores being 69-61. As the team came together to relive the win, Giannis gave a stern look at the team’s guard, Giannoulis Larentzakis. What followed was an open-palm slap on the back of the head of Larentzakis from Giannis.No official statement has been made so far. Hence, it is difficult to say if the slap was just a teammate-to-teammate gesture or if Larentzakis really did something to offend Giannis. Sometimes the angle of a clip makes a particular incident look much worse than it actually is. Also Read: “It’s Happening”- NBA star Tyrese Haliburton’s fiancé Jade Jones provides update, sparking marriage rumors