Overview
- The Hellenic Basketball Federation announced head coach Vassilis Spanoulis’s 17‑man squad on Tuesday, Aug. 11, and confirmed Giannis Antetokounmpo will not take part in the upcoming FIBA qualifying window because the Miami Heat asked him to join preseason early.
- Reports say the Heat’s request follows Antetokounmpo’s injury-limited 2025–26 season and is intended to protect his reintegration into the NBA preseason rather than reflecting any financial dispute with the federation.
- The roster relies on veteran leaders Kostas Papanikolaou and Nick Calathes plus a EuroLeague core that includes Giannoulis Larentzakis, Tyler Dorsey, Omiros Netzipoglou, Konstantinos Mitoglou, Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Dimitris Moraitis, and Nikos Rogkavopoulos.
- Three NCAA prospects—Alexandros Samodurov, Neoklis Avdalas, and Vangelis Zougris—were denied release by their schools and the coaching staff sees a minor change with Giorgos Limniatis added to the bench as Diamantis Panagiotopoulos steps away.
- Greece enters the final qualifying phase with a 3‑3 record and will play warm-ups in Athens on Aug. 22 and 24 before facing Ukraine in Riga on Aug. 28 and Spain at home on Aug. 31, a sequence that could determine whether the team advances to the World Cup.