Giannis Antetokounmpo, known as the Greek Freak, is a Greek basketball player. He is best known for his role with the Milwaukee Bucks, an NBA basketball team. He began his professional career by joining the junior squad of Filathlitikos B.C., a Greek professional basketball club. Soon after, he joined Filathlitikos’ senior squad. Antetokounmpo excelled in every aspect of the game, including rebounds, assists, and blocks. His remarkable and extraordinary athletic skills drew the attention of prominent clubs in Europe. CAI Zaragoza, a Spanish club, signed him to a four-year contract worth €400,000 per year.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, did not get the opportunity to play for Zaragoza since he was selected in the preliminary draft by the Milwaukee Bucks just as he was about to play for the Spanish team. His contract with Zaragoza included a default escape clause, so he qualified to play for the Milwaukee Bucks. In his third season with the Milwaukee Bucks, he was a key playmaker. The next year, he was awarded the Milwaukee Bucks’ top player.
Biography:
Born: December 6, 1994, in Athens, Greece
Nickname: The Greek Freak
Height: 6′ 11¾″ (2.13 m)
Childhood & Personal Life:
Giannis Antetokounmpo was born December 6, 1994, in Athens, Greece. His parents had come to the nation from Nigeria in 1991. Before migrating, his parents left their eldest kid, Francis, in the care of his grandparents.
Giannis has an older brother, Thanasis, and two younger brothers, Kostas and Alex. Despite being born in Greece, Giannis Antetokounmpo and three of his brothers did not qualify for Greek citizenship. In reality, even after reaching eighteen, he remained a stateless person because he lacked Greek and Nigerian citizenship.
He eventually acquired Greek citizenship in May 2013, just before the NBA draft. Additionally, Antetokounmpo is a Nigerian citizen.
He recalls his parents working extremely hard to provide for their family of eight. On most days, he and his older brother Thanasis would show up for practice on an almost empty stomach, in a field outside the family’s modest neighbourhood of Sepolia.
Antetokounmpo began his professional career in 2011 with Filathlitikos, a semi-pro Greek B Basket League club. The next year, he signed a four-year contract with Spanish club CAI Zaragoza.
In his personal life, Antetokounmpo and his girlfriend Mariah Riddlesprigger have a son named Liam Charles. Antetokounmpo lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where most of his family moved in early 2014.
Net Worth:
Giannis Antetokounmpo has an estimated net worth of $70 million. Giannis is one of the highest-paid players in the NBA, with an annual contract of $45 million.
Among his accomplishments, he was the first NBA player to finish the regular season in the top 20 in all five statistical categories: rebounds, assists, points, blocks, and steals. Antetokounmpo also earned back-to-back NBA MVP awards in 2019 and 2020, and in 2021, he led the Bucks to their first championship in 50 years.
Awards & Honours:
- NBA Champion (2021)
- NBA Finals MVP (2021)
- NBA Most Valuable Player (2019, 2020)
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2020)
- NBA All-Star (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- NBA All-Star Game MVP (2021)
- NBA Most Improved Player (2017)
- All-NBA Selection:
- All-NBA First Team (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
- All-NBA Second Team (2017, 2018)
- All-Defensive Selection:
- NBA All-Defensive First Team (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022)
- NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2017)
- NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2014)
- NBA 75th Anniversary Team: (2021)
- EuroBasket Top Scorer (2022)
- EuroBasket All-Tournament Team (2022)
- Euroscar European Player of the Year (2018)
- Time 100 (2021)
- Best Male Athlete ESPY Award (2019)
Fun Facts:
- The only non-American player in NBA history to win the All-Star Game MVP award.
- Giannis is the only NBA player to win both the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Most Improved Player (MIP) awards.
- Giannis invested in a Canadian candy company called “Candy Funhouse” this summer, expressing his passion for candy publicly on social media.
- In 2016, Giannis and his brother Thanasis fulfilled their military service obligation in the Hellenic Army, as required by Greek law. Due to their status as Greek citizens living abroad, they served a reduced term.