Who is Giannis
Antetokounmpo?
Giannis Ougko
Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks
of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Antetokounmpo's combination of
size, speed and ball-handling skills led to his nickname the "Greek Freak”.
Born
in Greece from 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. In 2013 he declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft and was
selected 15th overall by the Bucks.
In 2016–17 he led the Bucks in all five
major statistical categories and became the first player in NBA history to
finish a regular season in the top 20 in all five statistics of total points,
rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He received the Most Improved Player award
in 2017. He received three All-Star selections, and led the Eastern Conference
in voting in 2019. In June 2019, he
was named the NBA Most Valuable Player.
The Story of Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Antetokounmpo
family lived in Athens, in the Sepolia area, one of the worst neighborhoods in
the city with a high racist rate. Imagine how hard it could have been to spend
an immigrant life in a xenophobic neighborhood and with the fear that the
police might find out about their situation (because they didn't have a citizenship).
The situation is more dramatic because his mom Veronica and dad Charles don't
have a steady job and they are forced to work as street vendors. Feeding a
family where there are 5 children is not
easy, so the elder brothers like Francis, Thanasis and also him had to help
their parents, working on the street: sunglasses, bags, shoes and everything
that it was possible to sell to get money that would help to pay bills and eat
some food . Because some days the money wasn't enough to afford a decent meal. Despite
of these serious difficulties, one thing has always allowed Giannis
Antetokounmpo to be happy and free: basketball. The love for this sport has
always been stronger than anything: basketball for Giannis and his brother
Thanasis has been synonymous with salvation from the difficult street life,
light-heartedness from the heaviness of life, distraction from the grumbling
stomach. Like so many kids in the throes of absolute poverty, sport is a source
of life and comes to Giannis' rescue, allowing him to express all his talent. His
first team was Filathlitikos, thanks to the
coach Velliniatis, since then his
journey takes him to the NBA. His numbers are incredible: against three
playoffs teams (and not only) such as Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and
Portland Trail Blazers he has in fact reported 38.3 points 9.7 rebounds and 5
assists confirming himself as a truly incredible player. At the beginning of
the season he did special dedication to his father who died: 44 points, a photo
with the ball of the race for his memory. His story is full of emotions,
dedication and love for the sport. He also changed his body for the sport, indeed
in his first year in NBA he was very skinny but thanks to his dedication and
his mental strength he became very muscular. This change can be seen in the
photo above.
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