Greek Freak early life

The son of immigrants from Nigeria, Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, Greece on December 6, 1994. Three years earlier, his parents had moved from Lagos, Nigeria, to Greece, leaving behind their firstborn son, Francis, with his grandparents. Even though Antetokounmpo and three of his four brothers were born in Greece, they did not automatically qualify to receive full Greek citizenship.For the first 18 years of his life, Antetokounmpo had no papers, neither from Nigeria, nor from Greece.

Antetokounmpo grew up in the Athens neighborhood of Sepolia. Like many other immigrants to Greece, his parents struggled to find work. Antetokounmpo and his older brother, Thanasis, helped out by hawking items such as watches, bags and sunglasses.In 2007, Antetokounmpo started playing basketball and by 2009 was playing competitively for the youth squad of Filathlitikos.

Antetokounmpo officially gained Greek citizenship on May 9, 2013, with the official legal spelling of his name being Giannis Antetokounmpo. His nickname is "The Greek Freak".

Antetokounmpo's father, Charles, was a former Nigerian soccer player, while his mother, Veronica, was a high-jumper. Veronica gave each of her five sons both a Greek and a Nigerian name. The name she chose for Giannis was Ougko (OO-goh). Charles died in September 2017, at age 54.

Antetokounmpo has two older brothers, Francis (Greek name Andreas) and Thanasis, as well as two younger brothers, Kostas and Alexis. He and Thanasis were teammates in Filathlitikos, with Kostas later joining the squad in the 2013–14 season. His oldest brother, Francis (Greek name Andreas), has played football professionally in Nigeria. The whole Antetokounmpo, minus Francis and Thanasis, family moved from Athens to Milwaukee, in early 2014. In July 2016, Giannis and Thanasis began their mandatory military service in Greece. The two brothers served a reduced three-month military service, as prescribed for Greek citizens who are permanent overseas residents.

Antetokounmpo is an avid fan of the Greekmulti-sports club Olympiacos.

Thanasis was drafted by the New York Knicks, with the 51st overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.Antetokounmpo's younger brother, Kostas, plays NCAA Division I college basketball in the United States, at theUniversity of Dayton,while his youngest brother, Alexis, plays high school basketball in the US.