Jusuf Nurkic Says Giannis Has 'Sucked' Against Specific Defense in EuroBasket Play

Veteran big man Jusuf Nurkić believes he knows the formula to lessen the impact of nine-time NBA All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of a meeting in the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket.

"But at the end of the day, just stop him in transition and live with his shots," Nurkić said, per Giorgos Kyriakidis of BasketNews.com. "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 Bosnian center also pointed out how differences between international and NBA games can adversely impact Antetokounmpo.

"In the NBA he has so much space, with shooters like Brook Lopez spreading the floor, he's almost unstoppable," Nurkić said. "Here it's another game — no defensive three seconds, so much happening in the paint — but he's still a dominant player."

Antetokounmpo himself has acknowledged the need to adapt his game to FIBA rules.

"The style of basketball in Europe, or FIBA basketball, is totally different," he said in October 2024. "The space — it's very hard to score. It's very hard to operate. You can't move. They allow you to be so much more physical."

The two-time MVP went on to argue that playing internationally can be beneficial to NBA players.

"Once you figure out how to play with less space, when you come back and you have a lot of space, a lot of people cannot touch you in the NBA," he said.

It's not like trying to make Antetokounmpo more of a jump shooter is a novel approach. He has hit 28.4 percent of his threes in the NBA, and nearly half (48.8 percent) of his total field-goal attempts have come within three feet of the basket.

Clogging the paint and making Giannis pull up takes away his biggest advantage. FIBA rules give players and coaches tools to slow him down that aren't available in the NBA.

Still, the 6'11" averaged 29 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first two EuroBasket appearances for Greece. It's doubtful that Nurkić and Bosnia and Herzegovina will totally neutralize him Tuesday.