Turkey national basketbal team coach Ergin Ataman feels vindicated right now after his team pushed another NBA superstar out of the EuroBasket. His team faced Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece in the semifinals and passed it with flying colors after dominating them the whole game before ending it in a 94-68 scoreline.
Before, they were able to give tournament favorites Serbia and predicted MVP Nikola Jokic their first loss.
This is huge moment for Ataman who a week ago made headlines for saying NBA champions are not world champions.
OKC Thunder’s Alex Caruso even had to react.
“So for me, it’s a challenge every time, and I said again, with all respect to the NBA teams, EuroLeague basketball is a very high-level competition, and to be a world champion, they must play against us. It will be a challenge. We are ready to come to play everywhere for this title,” Ataman said last week.
His team showed Antetokounmpo how hard it is to win in Europe as they limited him to just 12 points, his lowest scoring output in the tourney.
It was a total team play for them led by Ercan Osmani with 28 points. Houston Rockets star and tournament MVP favorite Alperen Sengun had 15 and 12.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s struggle proved his point
Ataman’s previous statement is controversial but now, he can back it up after defeating two of the Top 3 players in the current NBA.
It’s official: Ergin Ataman is a genius. 🇹🇷#EuroBasket | #MakeYourMark pic.twitter.com/nR7tDmwxLr
— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) September 12, 2025
The Turkish coach doubled down on his statement after the victory.
“As I said, this isn’t the NBA. In European basketball, if you prepare well, protect the paint, and your players stay aggressive, you can be successful, it’s not that hard to stop him,” he told reporters after the game.
“I think Osmani played excellent defense against Giannis.”
Turkey will face Germany in the EuroBasket finals. Germany won the tournament in 1993, their only gold medal so far, while Turkey are yet to win it.
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