Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the most popular Greek basketball players playing in NBA. Despite his very difficult childhood, he achieved to become a top player with the most well paid contracts.
He was born in Sepolia of Athens, on the 6th of December 1994. His parents were refugees from Nigeria, who came to Greece in 1991. His father, Charles, was a famous football player in his country, while his mother, Veronica, was an athlete in the high jump. He has four brothers. Three of them are basketball players and one is a football player.
His family life was very difficult, since his parents did temporary jobs because they couldn’t find something permanent. As a result, they didn’t have enough money not even for their basic needs. Giannis and his brother Thanassis started to work too, selling miscellaneous goods in outdoor markets, trying to support their family income. Meanwhile, he got involved in sports playing football that his father taught him.
In 2007 Giannis began playing basketball for the youth teams of Filathlitikos in Zografou and two years later he began playing for the professional team. His development was spectacular so many agents from abroad asked him for teams like Anadolu Efes, Barcelona and CAI Zaragoza. At the same time, saw him agents from NBA and finally he entered the 2013 NBA draft, where he was selected 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, signing a very generous triennial contract. The following years, the tall skinny boy turned into one of the most trained and strong NBA players, with the nickname “The Greek Freak”.
In 2017, 2018 and 2019 he took part in “All Star NBA” games and he played with top players from the NBA. In 2019 and 2021 he won NBA Most Valuable Player Awards (MVP). In July of 2021 Giannis helped the Milawaukee Bucks to win the NBA Championship after 50 years. The contract he signed with the Buck for the next years amounts to astronomical payment, which proofs that Giannis has already offered a lot and he has a lot more to offer.
He has also joined the Greek National team in four tournaments: in FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014 and 2019, in EuroBasket in 2015 and in Pre-Olympics in 2016, having participated 49 times in total.
