Plenty of NBA players will represent their countries this summer when they head down to Rio for the 2016 Olympics. While they’re doing that, the Antetokounmpo brothers will represent their country in a different way: by doing their mandatory service in the Greek military.
That’s right, Giannis and Thanasis won’t spend all of their time this summer locked in a gym working on basketball. Instead, they will be just outside of Athens working at an armor training center for a few months.
According to Greek law, the Antetokounmpo boys will have to spend three months in their home country, which is the required amount of time for natives of Greece who live overseas. However, because they are both professional athletes, there is a chance that their service will be cut short due to the fact that they need to report to training camp in September.
Here is a picture of the two brothers in their official military uniforms. As is the case on the hardwood, it doesn’t look like you want to mess with Giannis:
Giannis & Thanasis begin Greece Military Service (should only last a few days) https://t.co/wkuSOgcKcO pic.twitter.com/oCLnKrFNQP
— Paul Henning (@brewcitypaul) July 13, 2016
It’s really admirable that the two of them are spending their summers serving their country, even if it is for a short amount of time. And while the two of them likely won’t get shipped off to fight in a war or anything, they’ll definitely be able to report to training camp with the Bucks and the Knicks with some interesting stories to tell their teammates.
(via Bleacher Report)
