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Sonia Deb

Dr. Tabitha Clark

ENGW 1111

9 March 2022

The Greek Freak of the Milwaukee Bucks

Standing 6 feet 11 inches tall with a wingspan of 7′ 3″

and shoe size of 16, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s towering figure

grips onto his prized possession as he continues his success in

the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. He shoots a free throw in the

stadium surrounded by his fans who support him for his

charisma, perseverance, and talent. With the agility of a 6’6″

wing player and the speed of a 6’1″ point guard, his size, speed,

and strength make Antetokounmpo one of the best basketball

players in the world. His Greek background combined with his Giannis Antetokounmpo shoots a
free throw against the Nets
freakish athleticism, consisting of precise passes, assertive (Getty Images)

tackles, explosive shoots, and coordinated steals, earned him the nickname “Greek Freak.”

The National Basketball Association is comprised of 30 North American teams. The

Milwaukee Bucks joined in 1968 and had a last-place divisional finish in their inaugural season.

Soon after their induction in the NBA, they won conference championships in 1971 and 1974.

While the team received attention when they were perceived as a newer rookie team, that

attention has since faded out. Up until a few years ago, the Bucks franchise was worth

approximately $300 million. This skyrocketed once Giannis Antetokounmpo joined the team to
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$1.6 billion. In 2021, the Bucks won their

first championship in 50 years when

Antetokounmpo made a grand contribution

of 50 points to the game. To the team,

Antetokounmpo bought not only his skill

but also diversity. The outpouring of new

talent from diverse backgrounds strikingly

increased the team’s value. The NBA 2020-

2021 was the seventh season to consecutively consist of over a hundred international players,

also with an international player on each roster. Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo brought

major talent to the Bucks and major opportunity to other international individuals involved in

professional sports. 

Antetokounmpo did not initiate his journey with basketball until he was about 13 years

old, a relatively late age for someone to begin playing a sport. His emergence into basketball

carried on to his induction to the Filathlitikos youth league team, evolving to the Filathlitikos

senior men’s team in the semi-pro Greek B Basketball League, further advancing to the Greek

A2 League (SportyTell). Once he became a legal adult, Antetokounmpo signed a four-year deal

to play with the Spanish club CAI Zaragoza just a few days after his 18th birthday. This contract

was set for 2013-2014, so he continued to play with Filathlitkos for the remainder of the 2012-

2013 season. The Milwaukee Bucks demonstrated their faith in him by drafting him in 2013 as

the 15th overall pick in the NBA Draft.

While Greek son Antetokounmpo has a natural talent that has taken him far in his career,

his success was not handed to him. He was born in Athens in 1994 to his Nigerian immigrant
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parents who had moved to Greece seeking opportunity to work. His parents shared common

struggles with other immigrant families in Greece: deportation threats and xenophobic attitudes.

Their lack of legal status put additional pressure on them to manage steady employment, and

they attempted to do so through the sale of consumer goods such as watches and glasses

(Kolberg). Along with Mr. And Mrs. Antetokounmpo, the remainder of the family sold items as

well, including Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo. Before becoming the Greek Freak, he was

once a Greek vendor, selling trinkets on the streets of Athens at six years old. In his childhood,

his primary objective was to simply help his family make ends meet.

At thirteen years old, Antetokounmpo began to turn his family’s circumstances around.

Spiros Velliniatis, coach of amateur basketball leagues of Greece, discovered the

Antetokounmpo’s and their natural gifts. With determination to train them full-time, Coach

Spiros assisted their parents in obtaining better employment, as they could not afford to lose a

few of their vendors (Lahoud). The family made the right call; the training significantly

enhanced their talents, and Giannis soon evolved into the most sought-after basketball talent in

Greece. Several major leagues across the world traveled to see him in action, and after joining

the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo was able to turn around the fortunes of both his

family and his team.

Greek Freak Antetokounmpo gradually progressed over his first few seasons, but his

major impact was during the 2015-2016 NBA season. He has numerous notable

accomplishments, a few being the first player in Milwaukee history to record more than three

triple-doubles in a season and the sixth player in the NBA Final History to score 50 points in one

game. He made the All-Star team each year since signing a four-year deal contract in September

2016 (Lines). He has won consecutive MVP awards for the last two seasons and is on his way to
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winning his third. When Antetokounmpo was interviewed by Steve Kroft, he reflected on his

values, his success with basketball, and how the two are intertwined. As a former street vendor,

he practiced persistence from a young age. While this aspect of his life may not seem overly

extravagant, it had a significant impact on his character development. In the interview, he

claimed, “I was the best [salesman]. I was really good at it,” (Milwaukee Bucks). As a young

boy, he instinctively felt compelled to help his family in any way possible, and this desire fueled

his tenacity. The interview continued on to topics such as improvement and progression. While

there is a stereotype about tall people being good at basketball, it is also known that having a big

build can be a disadvantage in that it can slow a player down. By some chance, Antetokounmpo

experiences the upper hand of being an extremely tall basketball player without the downfalls.

His freakish athleticism, which is especially rare in big men, allows him to score an average of

27 points per game. With all that said, when Kroft asked him if he is attempting to get even

better at his sport, Greek Freak responds, “I have to. There’s not a choice,” (Milwaukee Bucks).

His talent is admirable, but his fans and followers are drawn to his strong-willed character.

At the start of his career, Antetokounmpo was on his way to head to the arena one day for

practice. Earlier that day, he withdrew cash from the ATM to send to his family in Athens. When

he returned to the ATM at a later time to retrieve cab fare, he realized he had reached his limit.

During his attempt to sprint to the arena, a married couple recognized him as “the Bucks rookie”

and offered him a ride (Gartland). He went from having personal financial issues to transforming

the Bucks into a billion-dollar team. After growing up selling goods on the streets of Athens and

financially struggling along with his family, Antetokounmpo now has an approximate net worth

of $60 million, several endorsement deals with establishments such as Nike, Hulu, and T-
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Mobile, and two brothers also in the NBA. Starting in Athens, the Greek Freak has only built his

career, fanbase, net worth, and reputation up.

Gartland, Dan. “Giannis Antetokounmpo Once Had to Hitch a Ride to a Game With Strangers.”

Sports Illustrated, 22 July 2021,

https://www.si.com/.amp/extra-mustard/2021/07/21/bucks-finals-giannis-antetokounmpo-

rookie-ride-strangers.

“Giannis Antetokounmpo Biography Details, Age, Net Worth, & Basketball Career.” Lines,

https://www.lines.com/nba/players/giannis-antetokounmpo-497.

“Giannis Antetokounmpo Biography Facts, Childhood and Personal Life.” SportyTell, 13 June

2019, https://sportytell.com/basketball/giannis-antetokounmpo-biography-facts-childhood-

personal-life/.

“Giannis Antetokounmpo Says His Never-Give-Up Persistence Selling Trinkets on the Street as

a Boy Is the Same Trait Driving His NBA Success – ‘60 Minutes.’” Milwaukee Bucks,

NBA, 22 Mar. 2018, https://www.nba.com/bucks/news/giannis-antetokounmpo-says-his-

never-give-persistence-selling-trinkets-street-boy-same-trait.

Kolberg, Brad. “The Humble Superstar: New Giannis Antetokounmpo Biography Explores

Champion’s Family Life, Legacy.” Wisconsin Life, PBS Wisconsin, 14 Oct. 2021,

https://wisconsinlife.org/story/giannis-the-improbable-rise-of-an-nba-mvp/.

Lahoud, Raymond G. “The Scintillating Story of an Immigrant: Milwaukee Bucks Star Player

Giannis Antetokounmpo.” The National Law Review, 24 Aug. 2021,

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/scintillating-story-immigrant-milwaukee-bucks-

star-player-giannis-antetokounmpo.