Giannis Antetokounmpo has Greece at his feet. But for how long? / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: NIKE Credit NIKE

Giannis Antetokounmpo is definitely one of the most unlikely superstars in NBA history. The son of Nigerian immigrants who settled in Greece in the 90s started playing basketball around 13 years old and made a (modest) name for himself in the lower levels of the Greek league. Now, having won the NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks and having dropped 50 points in the decisive game of the NBA Finals, the 26-year-old is sitting on the top of the basketball world.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Position:PF, SFAge:26Height:211 cmWeight:98 kgBirth place:Athens, GreeceProfileNewsStatistics

His joy was shared from afar by many Greeks, who set an alarm clock or stayed sleepless to watch him excel on the world's biggest basketball stage. The "Greek Freak" set Twitter on fire in Greece, with most trends relating to the great win of Milwaukee. The hashtags "Greek Freak," "Bucks," "Giannis," "Sepolia" (the place where he grew up in Athens), and "Greece" are some of the trends that dominated early Wednesday morning, not only in the Mediterranean country but all over the world. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis posted a tweet with a photo of his TV screen while watching the Finals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is regarded as an example of what the power of will and perseverance can lead to. It was once shown to Greeks by the legendary Nikos Galis, whose status as the best basketball player ever to emerge from the country seems shakier than ever before. Galis was a poor emigrant who lifted Greek basketball way beyond any expectation or precedent. His contribution is and will remain invaluable, but now Greece has a new "king" who's called Giannis Antetokounmpo.

It's certain that through Antetokounmpo, young Nigerian or Greek basketball fans now have a more active connection to the USA and a deeper understanding of American culture. Likewise, the Milwaukee Bucks have repeatedly reached out to the Greek-speaking audience and fanbase worldwide, either by Twitter posts in Greece or by celebrating the country's history.

Although the NBA has been proven a unique organization in terms of embracing the diversification of talent, Greece remains a closed-off society to a large extent. Giannis’ family faced the threats of potential deportation back to Nigeria and anti-immigrant attitudes. The story of him and his family selling consumer goods such as watches and hats to keep their family afloat was widely known, and it has already become the subject of a Hollywood film.

Greece does not offer birthright citizenship and requires at least one parent to hold Greek citizenship for the child to receive it. Thus, without papers from Greece or Nigeria, Antetokounmpo was considered stateless, despite having lived in Greece his entire life. Eventually, the Greek government provided citizenship to their rising star before the 2013 NBA Draft, ensuring that Antetokounmpo would be identified as Greek on the world stage.

Over the last years, the Greek government has begun to capitalize on his stardom, making him an official national tourism ambassador in 2018.

He even urged Greeks to "play defense" against COVID, in another spot.

Despite the difficulties, the Antetokounmpo family still considers Greece to be their home, while Giannis also recognizes his connection to Nigeria - the birthplace of both his parents. Discussing his upbringing, Antetokounmpo stated in 2019 that "when I go home, there is no Greek culture. It’s straight-up Nigerian culture." Statements like that are quite frequently utilized in Greece by his critics every time Giannis brings up his Nigerian roots or is unable to play with the national team.

Without a shred of doubt, the Greek community in Milwaukee loves him and wants to be around him whenever he plays. Giannis is very appreciative of the support, and he often refers to his countrymen that root for him and the Bucks.

Giannis's success makes an interesting contrast with Greek people showing only occasional interest in the NBA. It's not only that the time (4 in the morning in Greece) is far from convenient. It's more on the culture. Greeks, as it happens with many countries where the overall basketball level on the club level is advanced, will rarely watch an NBA regular-season game, even if Giannis is in it. In the case of the Finals, the situation was a bit different. Milwaukee went on a historic title race with Antetokounmpo stealing the show, in a summer period when nothing important sports-wise had been going on in Greece. The NBA games are a strong asset for any TV platform in the country, but the need to buy a subscription in order to watch them hasn't touched the majority of the local viewers.

As one could expect from a global star, Giannis's popularity in Greece is immense, especially among the younger generations, who watch NBA games more regularly. However, what he still lacks in order to consolidate his status in Greece is to be successful with the national team. Greece have been underperforming for years, even when Giannis was able to join them.

His presence at the 2019 FIBA World Cup was a reminder that international basketball is a different beast compared to the NBA in terms of rules and freedom of movement on the floor. The fact that Giannis did not resemble the NBA MVP that he was at the time provoked some nasty comments about him and his ability to adapt to a different brand of basketball. Although the blame has been put on Greece's coaches, this year's NBA Finals MVP still had a lot to prove in his home country. Not in terms of faith and loyalty, but basketball-wise. As he had to fight against those who believed he was good enough only for the regular-season MVP Award, Giannis has another challenge ahead of him: to lead Greece on and off the court, as he did with the Bucks.

The fact that he's now an NBA champion and Finals MVP makes up for an extremely colorful return to Athens next Saturday. One of his top priorities will be to visit his old neighborhood of Sepolia and the playground, where he made his first basketball steps and which has been refurbished by his sponsor. Staging another "Antetokoumbros" event for the Athenian youth seems out of the question this year since the pandemic is still looming large all over Greece.

Credit NBA

For now, one thing is certain: all haters have been silenced.

Thank you for reading us! Help us even more.