by Mirin Fader
A mural of Giannis, located in the Palaio: Jason Rowan, “Giannis Antetokounmpo Graffiti in Greece Vandalized with Nazi Symbols,” Yardbarker, June 25, 2020, https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/giannis_antetokounmpo_graffiti_in_greece_vandalized_with_nazi_symbols/s1_8061_32255408.
In 2017, hate crimes: Patrick Strickland, “When Prosecuting Far-Right Violence Fails,” New Republic, October 30, 2018.
Beat and stabbed Pakistani: Ibid.
Jewish memorial: Ibid.
Krypteia, a Neo-Nazi: Sascha Brodsky, “A Surge in Neo-Nazi Attacks Terrifies Refugees in Greece,” Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2018.
Had their hijabs pulled off: Ibid.
Six men dressed in black: Ibid.
“Today you are going to die!”: Ibid.
Stitches for a scalp wound: Ibid.
As she touched the blood: Strickland, “When Prosecuting.”
One swept under the rug: Peter S. Goodman, “Giannis Antetokounmpo Is the Pride of a Greece That Shunned Him,” New York Times, May 3, 2019.
Highest percentage of incarcerated: Gene Demby, “Why Does Wisconsin Lock Up More Black Men Than Any Other State?” NPR, April 24, 2013.
More than half of all Black: Ibid.
Highest rate of segregation: Harrison Jacobs, Andy Kiersz, and Gus Lubin, “The 25 Most Segregated Cities in America,” Business Insider, November 22, 2013, https://www.businessinsider.com/most-segregated-cities-in-america-2013-11#1-milwaukee-waukesha-west-allis-wisconsin-25.
“The most segregated, racist place”: Dennis Punzel, “Bucks: Team President Peter Feigin Sees Re-energized Future for Franchise,” Wisconsin State Journal, September 27, 2016.
105,5000 renter households: Matthew Desmond, Evicted (New York: Broadway Books, 2016), 4.
Sixteen thousand adults: Ibid.
Three in four people are Black women: Ibid., 97.
9 percent of Milwaukee’s: Ibid., 98.
Police were dispatched: Jeff Zillgitt, “Bucks John Henson Accuses Store of Racial Profiling,” USA Today, October 19, 2015.
Parker, who felt he was racially profiled: Candace Buckner, “Milwaukee Can’t Stop Talking about the Bucks. The Team Hopes to Create a Dialogue about Race,” Washington Post, April 25, 2019.
America was the first place: Master Tesfatsion, “Giannis and Identity,” NBA on TNT: The Arena, July 23, 2020, https://twitter.com/MasterTes/status/1286396995259817985.
It shocked him: Ibid.
Does my country give people of color: Ibid.
Law 4332 was passed: Fahrinisa Campana, “‘They Don’t Accept You’: Afro Greeks Struggle to Be Seen,” Al Jazeera, November 18, 2020.
Imposed new hurdles: “Eυτυχία Σουφλέρη, Ερωτήσεις για απόκτηση ιθαγένειας: Από πηλίκια του στρατού μέχρι τους Πυξ Λαξ” (“Citizenship Questions: From Army Quotas to Pyx Lax”), news247.gr, February 20, 2021, https://www.news247.gr/koinonia/erotiseis-gia-apoktisi-ithageneias-apo-pilikia-toy-stratoy-mechri-toys-pyx-lax.9149381.html.
“Never! I have never felt”: Antonis Kalkavouras, “Δεν ένιωσα ποτέ ρατσισμό στην Ελλάδα” (“I Have Never Felt Racism in Greece”), Gazzetta.gr, June 18, 2013, https://www.gazzetta.gr/basketball/article/516529/den-eniosa-pote-ratsismo-stin-ellada.
“No, never, at least not from my friends”: Tasos Mergiannis, “I Will Buy a House for My Parents,” ΕΓΩ!Weekly, April 7, 2013.
“I was born in Aretaieio”: Nikos Papadojannis, “Θανάσης Αντετοκούνμπο: Οι μετανάστες να ξέρουν ότι είμαστε δίπλα τους!” (“Let the Immigrants Know That We Stand by Their Side”), Documento, October 13, 2019, https://www.documentonews.gr/article/oanashs-antetokoympo-oi-metanastes-na-xeroyn-oti-eimaste-dipla-toys.
“How is it possible”: Ibid.
Six thousand available tickets at Ellis Park Arena sold out: Nikos Papadojannis, “Αφρική, η άλλη πατρίδα” (“Africa, Giannis’s Other Home”), Hot Doc, no. 119, February 2, 2017.
Giannis and his brothers understand a little bit: Elina Dimitriadi, “Η Βερόνικα Αντετοκούνμπο μιλάει αποκλειστικά στη Vogue Greece” (“Veronica Adetokunbo Speaks Exclusively to Vogue Greece”), Vogue Greece, September 27, 2020, https://vogue.gr/living/i-veronika-antetokoynmpo-milaei-apokleistika-sti-vogue-greece/.
“Those people in the boats”: Steve Kroft, transcript of his 60 Minutes interview with Giannis, 2017.
“They have an ape”: Derek Gatopoulos, “Greek Prosecutor Investigates TV Slur Against Basketballer,” Associated Press, November 19, 2018.
“I have lost sleep”: Ibid.
“My brothers and I are proud”: Philip Chrysopoulos, “Giannis Antetokounmpo Responds to Racist Comments on Brother Thanasis,” Greek Reporter, November 15, 2018, https://greekreporter.com/2018/11/15/giannis-antetokounmpo-responds-to-racist-comments-on-brother-thanasis/.
Explore more of his Nigerian roots: Spears, “‘The Greek Freak’ Wants to Go Back.”
“Obviously, a lot of people”: Ibid.
“Can you pronounce?”: Maitreyi Anantharaman, “Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Name Is Not a Joke,” Slate, February 14, 2019, https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/how-to-pronounce-giannis-antetokounmpo.html.
“Giannis Ante-ka-noon-po”: Ibid.
“Close enough”: Ibid.
“Kind of in the ballpark”: Ibid.
“Superman”: Ibid.
“Greece is a country”: Tesfatsion, “Giannis and Identity.”
“It was tough”: Ibid.
“What exactly does this monkey?”: “Χυδαία επίθεση Καθηγητή του ΕΚΠΑ στον Αντετοκούνμπο” (“Vulgar Attack by a Professor of Athens University against Giannis”), Koutipandoras.gr, July 24, 2020, https://www.koutipandoras.gr/article/hydaia-epithesi-kathigiti-toy-ekpa-ston-antetokoynmpo.
“N-word”: Ibid., now deleted tweets by Kalemis @kkalemis.
“The ungrateful one”: Ibid., now deleted tweets by Kalemis @kkalemis.
“Nothing but an illiterate”: Ibid., now deleted tweets by Kalemis @kkalemis.
“The only Greeks are those”: “Χυδαία επίθεση Βελόπουλου σε Αντετοκούνμπο: ‘Ελληνας γεννιέσαι, φιλέλληνας γίνεσαι, αλλά μέχρι εκεί,’” (“Velopoulos’s Vulgar Attack on Antetokounmpo: ‘You Are Born Greek, You Become a Greek, but Until Then’”), Iefimerida.gr, July 24, 2020, https://www.iefimerida.gr/politiki/belopoylos-antetokoynmpo-ellinas-genniesai-filellinas-ginesai, citing: https://twitter.com/velopky/status/1286630944 632381441?s=19.
Demanded Giannis give his Greek: Nikos Deji Odubitan, “Giannis Should Be #Morethananathlete,” April 8, 2020, Generation 2.0, https://g2red.org/giannis-should-be-morethananathlete/.
“Those who refuse to look”: Nikos Papadojannis, “Η οργή της στρουθοκαμήλου” (“The Rage of the Ostrich”), Documento, July 25, 2020, https://www.documentonews.gr/article/h-orgh-ths-stroythokamhloy.
13. Freak
Primary source interviews: Aaron Salata, Jamie Sarauer, Joel Sarauer, Paul Henning, Bo Ryan, Bill Cover, Boris Diaw, Ricky Muench, Bucks staffer, Eric Harper, Malcolm Brogdon, Wes Bohn, Tim Frazier, Mason Yahr, Jason Terry, Christian Wood, Sterling Brown, Ti Windisch, Caron Butler, Alvin Gentry, Mike D’Antoni, Bill Simmons, Ersan Ilyasova, Bismack Biyombo, John Hammond, Jalen Green, Romeo Langford, Alex Antetokounmpo, DeVon Jackson, Jim Gosz, Jamari Magee, Tyler Herro, Logan Miranda, Matthew Smith, Raj Shukla, Dan Shafer, Myron Medcalf, Andy Carpenter, and Spencer Hawes.
Budenholzer would later dive: Chris Ballard, “Unlocking Giannis Antetokounmpo: How the Bucks Turned the Greek Freak into the MVP,” Sports Illustrated, April 3, 2019.
Dilkon, Window Rock, Tuba City, and Ganado: Michael Powell, “Mike Budenholzer Has Come a Long Way from Bucket of Blood Street,” New York Times, April 14, 2019.
While eating Subway: Ballard, “Unlocking Gia
nnis.”
Eggs and Iberian ham: Ibid.
How practice would be run: Ibid.
“I don’t care if you make it”: Matt Velazquez, “Giannis Needs to Embrace the Three; Coach Wants Star Forward to Shoot Often,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 11, 2018.
He’d yell at Giannis to shoot: Ballard, “Unlocking Giannis.”
Outlined boxes in blue tape: Genaro C. Armas, “Expectations Rise as Giannis, Bucks Move into New Arena,” Associated Press, October 10, 2018.
The release point moved away: Ballard, “Unlocking Giannis.”
Schuyler Rimmer, a six-foot-nine, 240-pound: Matt Velazquez, “Who Dares to Get Between Giannis and the Rim? For Bucks Video Guy Schuyler Rimmer, That’s His Job,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 15, 2019.
“Leaders have to tell teammates”: Jonathan Abrams, “In Giannis They Trust,” Bleacher Report, May 19, 2019, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2836757-in-giannis-they-trust.
“Are you sure?”: Ibid.
Giannis almost needed permission: Ibid.
Gave him a bracelet: Matt Velazquez, “Wood Battles for Bucks’ Roster Spot,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 1, 2018.
“If you told me”: Tim Reynolds, “At All-Star Game, Anthony Davis Finds Himself in Spotlight,” Associated Press, February 17, 2019.
“I love everything”: Matt Velazquez, “Giannis Antetokounmpo Closing Gap on LeBron James—Can He Pass the King as Face of the NBA?” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 18, 2019.
“Who, me?”: Ibid.
He’s LeBron fucking James: Ibid.
“He’s a fucking baby!”: Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob), Twitter, March 17, 2019, https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1107399730500431873.
“The basketball equivalent”: Ben Cohen, “Giannis Learned How to Shoot. Uh-Oh,” Wall Street Journal, December 18, 2019.
About 74 percent: Lori Nickel, “Excitement, Then Disappointment; the Bucks May Be from Milwaukee, but They Belong to the Whole World,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 20, 2019.
108 international players: Jerry Brewer, “NBA All-Star Weekend Provided a Potent Reminder That This Is Now the World’s Game,” Washington Post, February 18, 2019.
Overseas-born players has tripled: Kevin O’Connor, “The Future of the NBA Lies Overseas,” Ringer, November 26, 2019, https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/11/26/20983584/luka-doncic-giannis-antetokounmpo-lebron-james-schedule.
Even his own younger brothers often made fun of him: Adrian Wojnarowski, “Giannis Antetokounmpo on Money, Motivation, the MVP and More,” ESPN, March 28, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EmY0u xetWQ.
“When are you gonna change your accent?”: Ibid.
“Nah, this is who I am”: Ibid.
“Not American enough”: Ibid.
He didn’t have enough swagger: Ibid.
“A lot of people say”: Velazquez, “Giannis Closing Gap on LeBron.”
“I’m fucking unstoppable!”: Matt Velazquez, “As Easy as It Gets: Bucks Snow Pistons Under in Game 1,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 15, 2019.
Thanasis called him afterward. “You need to play harder”: Matt Velazquez, “Not Ready to Hit the Panic Button; Bucks Downplay Need for Adjustments,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 30, 2019.
It hurt: Ibid.
“A lot of us probably”: Joe Totoraitis, “Bucks Beat Celtics 116–91 to Advance to East Final,” Associated Press, May 9, 2019.
“I think it’s just the start”: Matt Velazquez, “A Learning Experience for Giannis; Bucks Star Says This Is ‘Start of Long Journey,’” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 27, 2019.
Didn’t sleep for two days: Matt Velazquez, “Bucks Are Still Hurting yet Hopeful; Team Reflects on Season, Looks Ahead to New Goals,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 28, 2019.
He was touched by: Ibid.
14. MVP
Primary source interviews: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Alex Antetokounmpo, Kostas Antetokounmpo, Veronica Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Nikos Zisis, Antonio Gil, Marvin Williams, Ricky Muench, Gout Deng, Ti Windisch, DeVon Jackson, Jim Gosz, and Jamari Magee.
Giannis vowed that if he won: Beth Harris, “Teary-Eyed Antetokounmpo Wins NBA MVP Honors,” Associated Press, June 25, 2019.
He took a deep breath: “Giannis’ Emotional MVP Acceptance Speech | 2019 NBA Awards,” ESPN, June 25, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMnstr2t14M.
The first international: Aaron Dodson, “The Story Behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s First Nike Signature Sneaker,” Undefeated, July 12, 2019, https://theundefeated.com/features/the-story-behind-giannis-antetokounmpos-first-nike-signature-sneaker/.
Giannis wanted his sneaker to inspire: Ibid.
Her favorite color: Elina Dimitriadi, “Η Βερόνικα Αντετοκούνμπο μιλάει αποκλειστικά στη Vogue Greece” (“Veronica Adetokunbo Speaks Exclusively to Vogue Greece”), Vogue Greece, September 27, 2020, https://vogue.gr/living/i-veronika-antetokoynmpo-milaei-apokleistika-sti-vogue-greece/.
Zappeion: Dodson, “The Story Behind.”
He’d often get upset: Malika Andrews, “Giannis Pledges to Extend Reign at Milwaukee Fete,” ESPN, July 14, 2019.
60 percent: Ibid.
“Fate can start you”: Dodson, “The Story Behind.”
AntetokounBros: Eurohoops, “Giannis’ Former Team Gym to Be Named ‘AntetokounBros,’” June 28, 2019, https://www.eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/899888/giannis-former-team-gym-to-be-named-antetokounbros/.
He winked: Michael Powell, “The Old Man and the Greek: N.B.A. Tale Needs Only a Great Ending,” New York Times, December 20, 2019.
“I wear the crown”: Matt Velazquez, “Bucks 111, Lakers 104: Giannis Rains Threes Down on LeBron and Company,” Milwaukee Sentinel Journal, December 19, 2019.
“I wasn’t supposed”: Keith Jenkins, “Antetokounmpo, Bucks Beat Davis-Led Lakers 111–104,” Associated Press, December 19, 2019.
They all posed: Ibid.
Three brothers: Ibid.
“He’s so far ahead of everyone”: Mirin Fader, “The Rise of the Next Antetokounmpo,” Bleacher Report, July 18, 2019, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2845193-the-rise-of-the-next-antetokounmpo.
When he wasn’t questioning himself: Ibid.
Alex wanted to be his own man: Ibid.
“My end goal is not”: Ibid.
“I have to tell him”: Ibid.
Thanasis’s Greek All-Star: Ibid.
Alex didn’t feel worthy: Ibid.
“That’s the spot”: Ibid.
He felt certain. He felt uncertain: Ibid.
“I second-guess myself”: Ibid.
He was a normal seventeen-year-old kid: Ibid.
Giannis was just always there: Ibid.
Giannis was more outspoken: Ibid.
People missed his mind: Ibid.
Maybe this isn’t for me: Ibid.
He’d felt pressure: Ibid.
“I couldn’t imagine”: Ibid.
“When I get drafted”: Ibid.
“First thing I had to do”: Ibid.
“Yeah, I’m not playing too good”: Ibid.
“Are you playing hard?”: Ibid.
“Yeah.”: Ibid.
“Are you giving it all”: Ibid.
“Yeah. I’m just not playing”: Ibid.
“How so? If you’re playing hard”: Ibid.
The call had lasted a minute: Ibid.
Just enough to chew on: Ibid.
Deleted his Instagram and Twitter accounts: Matt Velazquez, “A Great Source of Inspiration; Giannis Recalls Bryant’s Influence,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 28, 2020.
“Everybody deals with tragedy”: Ibid.
He wanted to keep his pain: Ibid.
He first thought that playing: Ibid.
“At the end of the day”: Ibid.
15. Home
Primary source interviews: Alex Antetokounmpo, Kostas Antetokounmpo, Dan Schnoll, Ashok Herman, Kelvin Robinson, Sharonda Robinson, Ma
tthew Smith, Andy Carpenter, Francesca Hong, Giannis Tzikas (via translator Maria Drimpa), Grigoris Melas, Myron Medcalf, Jim Kogutkiewicz, Alex Lanson, Jamie Sarauer, and Joel Sarauer.
He felt lost: Matt Velazquez, “Giannis Admits to Secret Workouts; Bucks Star Tries Adding to His Offensive Arsenal,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 23, 2020.
They wore “I can’t breathe”: Bill Glauber, Elliott Hughes, and Ben Steele, “Bucks Players Step Up; Milwaukee Protests over Police Brutality Enter Ninth Day,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 7, 2020.
“This is our city”: Ibid.
“This is for unity”: Tony Clements (@TonyClementsTC), Twitter, June 6, 2020, https://twitter.com/TonyClementsTC/status/1269413814715457536.
“My kid is going to grow”: Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport), Twitter, January 7, 2021, https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1347053505899491329.
“We’re the ones getting killed”: Andrew Greif, “Doc Rivers: ‘It’s Amazing Why We Keep Loving This Country, and This Country Does Not Love Us Back,’” Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2020.
“The very athletes we typically shroud”: Marcus Thompson II, “Thompson: ‘To Be in a Rage Almost All the Time,’” Athletic, May 28, 2020, https://theathletic.com/1841111/2020/05/28/thompson-to-be-in-a-rage-almost-all-the-time/.
“Why help the most comfortable”: Vinson Cunningham, “The Exhilarating Jolt of the Milwaukee Bucks’ Wildcat Strike,” New Yorker, August 27, 2020.
Was desecrated with swastikas: Jason Rowan, “Giannis Antetokounmpo Graffiti in Greece Vandalized with Nazi Symbols,” Yardbarker, June 5, 2020, https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/giannis_antetokounmpo_graffiti_in_greece_vandalized_with_nazi_symbols/s1_8061_32255408.
Golden Dawn was found guilty: Niki Kitsantonis and Iliana Magra, “Golden Dawn Found Guilty of Running Criminal Organization in Greece,” New York Times, October 7, 2020.
69 defendants: Ibid.
16,500 asylum seekers: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, “Long Economic Crisis Ushers in New Leadership in Greece,” New York Times, July 7, 2019.
“Forgotten emergency”: Ibid.
Helped hide Greece’s illegal: Matina Stevis-Gridneff, “E.U. Border Agency Accused of Covering Up Migrant Pushback in Greece,” New York Times, November 26, 2020.