Renowned ESPN insider Brian Windhorst criticized Greece for not having Giannis Antetokounmpo national team jerseys to sell. He also criticized Serbia and Greece for not giving access to players during FIBA tournaments and said they view the media as their adversary instead of trying to work for the growth of the game in Europe.
International FIBA tournaments like EuroBaskets or World Cups are attracting the biggest basketball stars from all around the world. However, basketball fans aren't very likely to hear even a single quote from them.
Nikola Jokic is notorious for not wanting to talk to any media. While to a lesser degree, the same applies to global superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Luka Doncic. It is an issue BasketNews highlighted a couple of years ago.
Renowned ESPN journalist Brian Windhorst appeared in the latest episode of the Thanalysis Show with Thanasis Antetokounmpo, where he remembered this practice occurring in the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China already.
"Of course, Giannis isn't talking to the media. He didn't talk the entire time in China," Windhorst said. "He was like, 'I ain't talking with these guys.'"
Windhorst praised Greek media for asking tough questions and later highlighted that giving the media access to the biggest stars can only improve the exposure and bring in additional revenue to European basketball, a thing it famously lacks.
First, he criticized the Greek Basketball Federation for not giving people the opportunity to buy Giannis Antetokounmpo's national team jerseys.
"Generally in Europe, they don't focus on money. For example, Greece has killer gear. The gear for their basketball team? Awesome. First of all, that gear should be on sale here. You should be able to buy a Giannis [Greece NT jersey]. You can buy a little bit. Giannis Greece jerseys are awesome. They're awesome. The Greek jerseys are awesome. They're made by Nike, it's not like they're made by some obscure brand. You should be able to get them. You can't get gear," he passionately said. "You can't get gear! It's hard to get gear. You can't get gear."
Later on in the podcast, Windhorst turned to Serbia and Nikola Jokic.
"They don't do media because they hate the media, and they see it as their adversary. They don't understand that it grows the game, which means more money," Windhorst said.
"Like Jokic. He hasn't talked to the media for like five years when it comes to the Serbian national team. He's very polite. We ask him, and he just goes, 'Not today, my friend.' And he keeps on walking.
"The Serbian coach [Svetislav Pesic], he does speak English, but he won't answer questions. He had no interest," Windhorst continued. "Serbia and the US played three games this summer, they played in the semifinal. 'No questions in English.' He's just not talking. Like OK, whatever. There are a lot of English-speaking fans who are interested in what was going down. But money is not a factor."
Full Thanalysis Show episode w/ Brian Windhorst:
