Giannis Antetokounmpo
"The Greek Freak"
Giannis Sina Ougko Antetokounmpo (read: Yah-nis Ahn-teh-tuh Koom-poh; Greek: Γιάννης Αντετοκούνμπο) is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing 6 feet 9 inches Antetokounmpo's combination of size, speed and ball-handling skills led to his nickname the "Greek Freak".
Born in Greece to Nigerian parents, Antetokounmpo began playing basketball for the youth teams of Filathlitikos in Athens. In 2011 he began playing for the club's senior team. He declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft in 2013 and was selected 15th overall by the Bucks.
Until now, he still playing with Milwaukee Bucks and received three All-Star selections, and named as the NBA Most Valuable Player in June 2019.
Nick Name: Greek Freak
Nationality: Greek
Famous : Basketball Player
Position : Small Forward / Power Forward
Age : 24 years old
Sun Sign : Sagittarius
Born in : Sepolia, Athens
Famous as : Basketball Player
Family:
father : Charles Antetokounmpo
mother : Veronica Antetokounmpo
siblings : - Alexis Antetokounmpo,
- Francis Antetokounmpo
- Kostas Antetokounmpo
Childhood & Early Life
Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, Greece, on December 6, 1994, the son of immigrants from Nigeria. Three years earlier, his parents had moved from Lagos, leaving behind their firstborn son, Francis, with his grandparents. Giannis and three of his brothers did not qualify for receiving Greek citizenship. In fact, even after turning 18, he remained a stateless person as he neither had Greek nor Nigerian citizenship.
Antetokounmpo grew up in the Athens neighborhood of Sepolia. His parents, as immigrants, could not easily find work, so Antetokounmpo and his older brother, Thanasis, helped by hawking watches, handbags and sunglasses in the streets. A club instructor recalls a 13-year old Giannis and his brother playing with a football and was not very interested in dribbling with a basketball.
Spiros Velliniatis, the club coach who mentored other children in the Sepolia locality, realized that although Giannis was not good at basketball, he had the mental toughness and determination to excel in the sport. Later, on 2007, Giannis and Thanasis began practicing basketball.
After practicing for two years, Giannis was selected as a member of Filathlitikos’s youth team in 2009 which marked the onset of his professional career.
Early Professional Career
Giannis Antetokounmpo represented the youth team of Filathlitikos for three years, from 2009 to 2012. He excelled in every quarter of the game and helped his side win numerous fixtures. In one game, he notched up 50 points which caught the eye of several managers of eminent basketball clubs in Europe.
Antetokounmpo became a
member of Filathlitikos’s senior squad in 2012, representing the club
in the Greek A2 Basket League for the 2012-13 Season. In the same year
in December, CAI Zaragoza, a Spanish club entered into a 4-year contract
with him that included a NBA buyout stipulation for each season.
His
contract with CAI Zaragoza was due to start in the 2013-14 season.
During the 2012-13 Greek A2 League playoffs, he maintained an average of
9.5 points in at least 26 games with 1.0 block, 1.4 assists, and 5.0
rebounds in every game.
He qualified as a singular participant for the ‘Greek League All-Star Game’ in 2013.
Professional NBA Career
On 28 April 2013,
Giannis qualified for the NBA drafting for the 2013-14 Season. He was
selected in the very first round of the draft, ranking 15th overall
amongst all eligible draftees of Milwaukee Bucks. He was signed up as a
new recruit for the Bucks’ on 13 July 2013.
He
took the field in 77 matches for Milwaukee Bucks in 2013-14 and became the
top ranking NBA rookie for the season that made him eligible for the NBA All-Star Weekend ‘Rising Stars
Challenge’.
His
impressive performance at the ‘Rising Stars Challenge’ playoff earned
him a position in the 2nd team of the NBA All-Rookie lineup, where each
squad has five players. Additionally, Milwaukee Bucks extended their
contract with Antetokounmpo for two more seasons, 2014-15 and 2015-16.
On February 2015, he earned his first ‘player of the week’ honor and
was adjudged the ‘Eastern Conference Player’ for his stellar performance. That year, he participated in NBA
All Star Weekend’s Slam Dunk Contest in New York.
On
February 2016, at the
age of 21, he created a record by becoming the youngest Bucks’ team member to score a triple-double.
On April 2016, he became the first player in Milwaukee Bucks history to earn five triple doubles in one season.
Giannis
inked 4-year extended contract with Milwaukee Bucks worth $100 million
on September 2016. He
was again felicitated as the ‘Eastern Player of the Week’ in December
2016 for his appearances.
He was selected to start the ‘2017 NBA All Star Game’ as a member of the Eastern Conference’s All-Star squad. On February 2017, Giannis Antetokounmpo made history by becoming the
sole player from Bucks’ to be selected as an All-Star squad member. Following his selection as a starter in an ‘All Star
Game’, at the age of 22, he became the youngest basketball player to do
so in club franchise history.
Giannis
also became the first and only Greek NBA All-Star player to start an
All-Star game. He was designated ‘Eastern Conference Player of the
Month’ on April 2017.
He
became the 4th Bucks player to be selected as ‘Eastern Conference
Player of the Month’ and matched Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s record after achieving his 3rd triple-double for 2016-17 season.
He
became the fifth player in the history of NBA to lead Bucks in the
statistical categories of points, assists, rebounds, blocks, and steals.
He
became the first Bucks player to be honored with the ‘NBA Most Improved
Player Award’ for the 2016-17 Season.
Professional National Team Career
Antetokounmpo represented Greece for the first time in July 2013 with the Greek Under-20 national team at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.
In 2014, Antetokounmpo played for the senior men's Greek national basketball team for the first time, helping Greece finish ninth overall in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Antetokounmpo again joined the Greek national team for EuroBasket 2015.
Greece's roster consisted of many experienced players, most of them
previously crowned European champions with their clubs, and Greece was a favorite for a medal.
Antetokounmpo finished the tournament with three double-doubles.
Antetokounmpo also played with Greece at the 2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. He also played with Greece during their preparation phase for the EuroBasket 2017.
Antetokounmpo also represented Greece at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, where Greece finished the tournament in 11th place.
Through the year 2019, Antetokounmpo has played with the senior men's Greek national team in 49 caps (games). He has scored a total of 573 points, for a scoring average of 11.7 points per game.
Awards and accomplishments
- NBA Most Valuable Player: 2019
- 3× NBA All-Star: 2017, 2018, 2019
- NBA Most Improved Player: 2017
- All-NBA First Team: 2019
- 2× All-NBA Second Team: 2017, 2018
- NBA All-Defensive First Team: 2019
- NBA All-Defensive Second Team: 2017
- NBA Rising Stars Challenge Participant: 2014, 2015
- NBA Slam Dunk Contest Participant: 2015
- NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge Participant: 2014
- NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 2014
- Euroscar European Player of the Year: 2018
- Etc.
Personal life
When he officially gained Greek citizenship on May 9, 2013, his name was officially romanized as Giannis Antetokounmpo. His nickname is the "Greek Freak".
Antetokounmpo's father, Charles, died in September 2017, at age 54. His mother, Veronica gave each of her five sons both Greek and Nigerian names, choosing the Nigerian Ougko (/ˈuːɡoʊ/ OO-goh) for Giannis. His parents are from different Nigerian ethnic groups—Charles was Yoruba, while Veronica is Igbo.
Antetokounmpo has two older brothers, Francis and Thanasis, as well as two younger brothers, Kostas and Alexis. He and Thanasis were teammates in Filathlitikos, with Kostas later joining the squad in the 2013–14 season.
His oldest brother, Francis, has played football professionally in
Nigeria, and both basketball and football professionally in Greece.
Following their son and brother, the entire Antetokounmpo family, except for Francis and Thanasis, moved from Athens to Milwaukee.
Thanasis made his NBA debut with the New York Knicks after being drafted by the organization with the 51st overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He is now with the Milwaukee Bucks. Antetokounmpo's younger brother, Kostas, played college basketball for Dayton before being selected with the last pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. Their youngest brother, Alexis, plays high school basketball in the US.
After winning the "MVP" title on 2019, he made a contract with Nike in making his own signature shoe, called Nike Zoom Freak 1. The shoes are priced at $150 with a variety of colorways.
"Fate can start you at the bottom. Dreams can take you to the top."
-NBA MVP 2019, Giannis Antetokounmpo
QUESTIONS:
1) When was Giannis born?
2) What did Giannis and his brother do to help their parents earn money?
3) When was the first time Giannis being qualified for the NBA?
4) Which team does Giannis play in NBA?
5) Do all of Giannis' brothers play basketball?
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