Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo, often referred to as "The Greek Freak," is a prominent NBA player born on December 6, 1994, in Athens, Greece, to Nigerian parents. He began playing basketball at a young age and quickly gained recognition for his skills, leading him to be drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks as the 15th overall pick in 2013. Over his career, he has earned multiple accolades, including being a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and an NBA All-Star. Antetokounmpo's unique playing style allows him to excel in various positions, and he is celebrated for his defensive and offensive abilities.
Beyond his on-court success, Antetokounmpo has made significant contributions off the court, including involvement in sustainable investment initiatives and executive production roles in documentaries. He has a close-knit family, with all four of his brothers also engaged in professional basketball, including two who play in the NBA. Antetokounmpo's personal life is enriched by his marriage to Mariah Riddlesprigger, with whom he has three children. His journey from humble beginnings to NBA stardom makes him an inspiring figure in sports and beyond.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Basketball player
- Born: December 6, 1994
- Place of Birth: Athens, Greece
Significance: A National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo was born in Greece to Nigerian parents. Drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks as an eighteen-year-old, Antetokounmpo played for the team from 2013 through 2021. The power forward nicknamed “The Greek Freak” in his rookie season for his skills on the court, racked up numerous awards and was named NBA All-Star multiple times. Antetokounmpo also played on Greek national teams that attempted to qualify for the Olympics and in FIBA Basketball World Cup games.
Background
Giannis Antetokounmpo was born Giannis (Ugo) Adetokunbo in Athens, Greece, on December 6, 1994, to Veronica and Charles Adetokunbo, who had moved to Greece from Nigeria in 1991. The couple had a son who was born in Nigeria, and in addition to Giannis, had three more sons born in Greece. Antetokounmpo’s father, who died in 2017, worked as a handyman. Giannis and his brothers sold accessories such as sunglasses on the streets to help the family financially. Although Veronica spoke the Nigerian dialect Igbo to Giannis, he spoke Greek at school and with his friends.
Adetokunbo began playing basketball at age seven. When he was thirteen, a local basketball coach, Spiros Velliniatis, noticed Adetokunbo’s skills on the court and began coaching him. Adetokunbo’s brother Thanasis played as well, and both joined Filathlitikos, a second-division Greek team. As a result, both boys were scouted by American and European professional basketball teams.
In 2013, Adetokunbo decided to enter the NBA Draft. However, although he had been born in Greece, he was not a Greek citizen and did not have the proper documentation that would allow him to travel. Coincidentally, shortly before the draft, his Greek citizenship paperwork was approved. Antetokounmpo and his brothers changed the spelling of their last name, Adetokunbo, on their passports to help with phonetic pronunciation in the United States.
The Greek Freak Makes His Mark
On June 27, 2013, the Milwaukee Bucks chose the six-foot-eleven-inch Antetokounmpo fifteenth overall in the NBA Draft. Although he was just eighteen years old, the Bucks decided Antetokounmpo would join the team immediately, and he signed a contract on July 30 for $8.6 million over three years.
Antetokounmpo played in his first NBA game on October 13, 2013. Over seventy-seven games during the 2013–14 season, he placed among the top five NBA rookies in rebounds, three-point percentage, blocks, and minutes played, and was in the top ten in assists, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, and steals.
In just his second season with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week February 2–8, 2015, for averaging 19.5 points, 11 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game, helping the Bucks win three of the four games they played during that week. Although the Bucks went to the NBA playoffs that year, they were eliminated by the Chicago Bulls in the first round.
Antetokounmpo continued to build his skillset in the 2015–16 season, putting up his first 30-plus game on November 19, scoring 33 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also snagged his first career triple-double (ten or more in each of three statistical categories) on February 22, 2016, scoring 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Los Angeles Lakers. Antetokounmpo went on to score four more triple-doubles over the next nineteen games.
Before the 2016–17 season, Antetokounmpo signed a 4-year, $100 million contract extension to stay with the Bucks. Starting eighty games that season, he continued to impress, playing for the Eastern Conference in the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. Starting the game, Antetokounmpo became the youngest-ever Bucks player, at twenty-two, to be named to the All-Star Team. He was also named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for March, and at the end of the season, was named NBA Most Improved Player for 2016–17.
During the 2017–18 season, Antetokounmpo averaged 26.9 points per game and tied for the fourth-highest average in the NBA. He started in his second straight NBA All-Star Game and helped lead the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Playoffs, although the Boston Celtics eliminated them in the first round.
Antetokounmpo was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month four times during the 2018–19 season, including three months in a row between the fall of 2018 and February 2019. On March 17, he scored 52 points, a career high up to then, against the Philadelphia 76ers. Antetokounmpo again started in the NBA All-Star Game, and the Bucks qualified for the playoffs. This time, they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the Toronto Raptors.
In the fall of the 2019–20 season, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks on an eighteen-game winning streak. In January, he was named to the NBA All-Star Team for the fourth time. The NBA season was paused in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic and picked back up in July. The Bucks made it to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but Antetokounmpo was injured, missing all or parts of some of the playoff games, and the Bucks were eliminated by the Miami Heat. Before the 2020–21 season, Antetokounmpo signed a contract extension with the Bucks worth $228 million over five years. Antetokounmpo was named MVP of the finals this season, scoring as many as 50 points in a game and leading the Bucks to an NBA Championship.
By the end of the 2022 season, Antetokounmpo had played 656 games with the Milwaukee Bucks. In January 2023, Antetokounmpo had 10 rebounds and 7 assists, playing his highest scoring game to date with 55 points against the Washington Wizards. He continued to have a strong 2023–24 season, averaging over 30 points per game and 6.5 assists.
Impact
Before he was twenty-six years old, Antetokounmpo received five NBA All-Star selections between 2013 and 2020, was an NBA All-Star Game MVP (2021), and a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (2019, 2020). He was also the 2020 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. In the 2019–20 season, Antetokounmpo led the NBA in field goals (685), 2-point field goals (596), and defensive rebounds (716). Antetokounmpo played all five positions in his career but was most often listed as a forward or point forward. In 2022, the movie Rise based on the events of Antetokounmpo and his family was released, and Antetokounmpo became an executive producer on the National Geographic documentary The Flag Makers. Additionally, Bloomberg reported the establishment of the Calamos Antetokounmpo Sustainable Equities Fund in 2022, which, as promoted by Antetokounmpo, aimed to improve financial literacy and sustainable investment.
Personal Life
Antetokounmpo and his longtime girlfriend, Mariah Riddlesprigger, a former volleyball player at Rice University, had two sons and a daughter, born in 2020, 2021, and 2023. The couple married in Greece in 2024. All four of Antetokounmpo’s brothers played basketball, including two (Thanasis and Kostas) in the NBA.
Bibliography
Binner, Andrew. “Giannis Antetokounmpo: From Poverty in Greece to NBA’s Most Lucrative Player.” International Olympic Committee, 19 Feb. 2021, olympics.com/en/featured-news/giannis-antetokounmpo-nba-milwaukee-bucks-greece. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.
Boeder, Alex. “Grading the 2013 Draft Grades.” NBA, 6 June 2016, www.nba.com/bucks/features/boeder-grading-the-2013-draft-grades. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.
Goodman, Peter S. “Giannis Antetokounmpo Is the Pride of a Greece That Shunned Him.” The New York Times, 3 May 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/05/03/sports/giannis-antetokounmpo-greece.html. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.
Sampson, Brian. "Giannis Antetokounmpo at Center: The Milwaukee Bucks' Recipe for Havoc." Forbes, 17 Sept. 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/briansampson/2024/09/17/giannis-antetokounmpo-at-center-the-milwaukee-bucks-recipe-for-havoc/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.
Spears, Marc J. “‘The Greek Freak’ Wants to Go Back to His Nigerian Roots.” The Undefeated, 5 Mar. 2019, theundefeated.com/features/bucks-giannis-antetokounmpo-greek-freak-wants-to-go-back-to-his-nigerian-roots/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.
Woodyard, Eric. “Giannis Antetokounmpo Loves ‘Greek Freak’ Nickname, Unsure of Origin.” ESPN.com, 21 May 2020, www.espn.com/nba/story/‗/id/29206029/giannis-antetokounmpo-loves-greek-freak-nickname-unsure-origin. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.