Antetokounmpo brothers – from migrants to ambassadors

Greek professional basketball players, brothers Giannis (L) and Thanasis Antetokounmpo attend an interview at the Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens on June 24, 2017. AFP PHOTO

Rags to riches NBA All-Star player Giannis Antetokounmpo spoke openly on Saturday of his Nigerian origins and of eking out a living trading on the Athens streets long before his $100 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Giannis appeared on stage at the Onassis Cultural Centre with his 24-year-old brother Thanasis, who plays for the Spanish club MoraBanc Andorra, and they talked about their painful struggle in their early days in Greece where their parents had arrived as immigrants.

“We are the products of two cultures, Greek and Nigerian, and we took the best of both worlds,” Giannis said.

“There are many people who have gone through tough times, but you still have to look for the light. Our parents taught us not to be selfish, to be honest and sincere,” Thanasis added.

The sons of Nigerian immigrant parents, who came to Greece for a better life, Giannis and Thanasis were born in Athens and grew up selling merchandise in the streets of the capital in order to help their poor family.

But basketball changed their lives and last year Giannis signed a $100 million four-year contract with the Bucks. Thanasis also tried his luck in the NBA before joining his Spanish club.

“I started out playing football as my father was a football player back in Nigeria. But basketball was my life and I worked hard. Now that I’ve made it in the NBA it is hard to stay on top so you have to work harder,” Giannis said.

He continued: “You have to test your limits and I believe I want to be the best player of all time and I know I can get there.”

The 22-year-old added he was determined to help other young people in both Greece and in Africa to get ahead.

“I would like to do everything I can to help them have a better life. The Americans gave me a chance to fulfill my dream. If you work hard and believe in your dream you will succeed,” he said.

The Antetokounmpo brothers are very popular in Greece and earlier this month drew a standing-room-only crowd of 5,000 spectators during an exhibition game they organized in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

“Greece loves us because we are good guys. We promote Greece wherever we go,” Giannis said.

Another game by the brothers, who play for the Greek national team, is set for Sunday in Athens and a sell-out crowd of 18,000 is expected.

“I know nothing else but Greece. I have never been to Nigeria. You are not born a Greek, you become a Greek,” Giannis said.