With EuroBasket heading into the final weekend, Greece’s run ended in a way nobody expected: a lopsided semifinal loss to Turkiye that left Giannis Antetokounmpo visibly shaken and the whole tournament narrative flipped. Giannis had been the event’s leading star, averaging 27.3 points and 10.6 rebounds, but the Turkiye game was his worst outing, a 12-point performance that coincided with a team collapse in Riga. That result changed the tone of his post-tournament interactions and set the scene for sharp on-court and off-court reactions.

Turkiye’s game plan was simple and effective: crowd the paint, force tough finishes from Giannis and rotate on the perimeter so shooters could thrive. It worked to perfection as Ercan Osmani and Alperen Sengun turned in huge nights and Greece could not find consistent answers. After the loss Turkey moved on to the final while Greece shifted focus to the bronze match. Add public comments from Turkish players questioning Giannis’s play and you get a moment where even routine fan noise becomes combustible.

Then the social clip surfaced and the moment went viral. During an Instagram Live after Greece’s bronze win, @basketnews reported that Giannis erupted when fans pasted Turkiye flags in the chat and told viewers “Take the fu—– Turkiye flag out of here.”* Other posts picked up a similar line in the playback and it quickly became one of the defining viral moments from the tournament. The outburst shows how raw the aftermath still felt for Giannis after the semifinal loss.

That flag flare up cannot be read in isolation. Giannis spent the tournament carrying his nation and then watched a game plan specifically built to blunt him succeed in doing exactly that. Turkish coverage and multiple players publicly discussed how they focused on limiting his play and pointed to perceived weaknesses. The exchange of barbs and the emotional Live reaction underline how international competition can get personal very fast when national pride and superstar legacies collide.

This outburst provides a clear window into Giannis’s state of mind following the disappointing loss. His uncharacteristically poor game against Turkey was his only performance in the tournament scoring under 25 points, and he finished with a dismal box plus-minus of negative thirty. The Turkish defense, led by Sengun and Ercan Osmani, clearly got under his skin both during and after the game. This raw emotional response by Giannis completes the story of a rivalry that began on the court and has now spilled over into a very public and personal feud.

The roots of rivalry

The beef between Giannis and Alperen Sengun ignited immediately after Turkey’s semifinal victory. When asked to explain how his team contained the two-time NBA MVP, Sengun offered a blunt assessment. “He’s not a great passer. He’s an amazing player, you know, but he’s not a great passer. So we just tried to help and jump to close the paint,” he stated, framing his team’s strategy around what he perceived as a flaw in Giannis’s game.

Giannis’s response to this criticism was measured but carried a clear message of defiance. Speaking at a press conference, he chose to let his accolades speak for him. “I’m a guy who doesn’t like to talk a lot. You know, I let my game talk,” he said. “I’m going to my 13th season in the NBA. I’ve won everything. Everything.” He then issued a simple challenge to his critics, suggesting they “go see my clips on YouTube” to judge his passing for themselves.

The war of words didn’t stop with the players. Greece’s head coach, Vassilis Spanoulis, leapt to his star’s defense with even stronger language, dismissing Sengun’s comments entirely. “Sengun is a very, very small kid to talk about Giannis,” Spanoulis retorted. He vehemently denied that Turkey had discovered a secret to stopping Giannis, calling the notion “bullshit” and attributing the loss simply to a bad day and missed opportunities.

This exchange between the Greek and Turkish camps transforms a single game into a deeper narrative of respect and legacy. For Sengun, it was a tactical analysis, but for Giannis and his supporters, it was seen as a disrespectful critique from a less-accomplished player. The resulting tension, fueled by a shocking online outburst, ensures this international rivalry will have plenty of spice when these NBA stars meet again.