Photo by: Tristan Tamayo/Inquirer.net
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo may be under contract with sporting giant Nike and is set to earn around $100 million for the next four years, but he still maintains his frugal ways.
“Last year I used five or six pairs of sneakers, so if we played around 100 games, around 20 games per pair,” said Antetokounmpo during his media availability for the “Greek Freak Invades Manila” Sunday at Fairmont Makati.
Antetokounmpo grew up in poverty when he and his family was still in Greece where his parents always feared if they would be deported back to Nigeria, according to Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins.
In his rookie year, Antetokounmpo saved a pair of shoes then-teammate Caron Butler threw away saying it was still good enough to play in.
“Growing up [throwing good condition shoes] did not exist,” said Antetokounmpo, who is in the country for a charity event organized by King Bally Entertainment Group.
“I realized now that I’m four years in the league and you get so many shoes you can throw some but for me, I’m not saying it was a bad thing what Caron did, but it kind of shocked me.”
Antetokounmpo said out of the scores of pairs he receives from Nike, he makes it a point to save every one.