This year’s NBA Finals were not watched by Giannis Antetokounmpo. It was too distressing to watch as a spectator the series that he dominated last year, as few players have done.
“Like, I get too tensed up, because I just start sweating on the couch,” Antetokounmpo said.
He prefers being on the court, especially because his brother plays with him.
Together with his brother Thanasis, Antetokounmpo began playing basketball in Greece. He is currently a member of the Milwaukee Bucks, a team that boasts a few players who have experienced what it’s like to be an NBA sibling.
“Me and Thanasis were playing on the same team for more than 10 years. So, it’s almost like two co-workers going to work every day,” Antetokounmpo said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I don’t see him as my brother when I’m at work. He does his job, I do my job, but obviously when the game is over, when the practice is over, we spend time together, as much as we can.
“He makes my life way easier.”
Their other three brothers are elsewhere in the world. But the difficulties their family faced while living in Athens has kept them close, a story that’s told in “Rise,” which debuts Friday on Disney+.
The movie includes some highlights from the 2021 NBA Finals, when Antetokounmpo averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists in leading the Bucks to their first championship in 50 years. But he said the film, for which he served as an executive producer, isn’t really about basketball.
“No, this is a movie about my dad and my mom,” Antetokounmpo said, “the sacrifices they made, how dedicated they were to providing for us, the difficulties that they faced every single day in their lives and the fear they had when they were walking the streets of Athens.
“That’s the real story.”
Despite the fact that their other four kids were born in Greece, Charles and Vera Antetokounmpo traveled from Nigeria to Athens, leaving their eldest son with relatives. However, they were never able to get Greek citizenship, which remained a source of disappointment and risk. Giannis eventually entered the 2013 NBA draft and was chosen by the Bucks with the No. 15 pick, giving basketball the security they could never have.
With the help of two-time NBA MVP Antetokounmpo, the Bucks—who were among the weakest teams in the league when he joined—have improved to become one of the best. The twin of center Brook Lopez, Robin, even played a season for the Bucks, while teammate Jrue Holiday has two brothers who are active players in the NBA.
“I think it’s just easier for us to relate to one another and know what they’re going through, and it’s fun to see Brook interact with Robin, or Jrue with Aaron or Justin,” Antetokounmpo said. “Like, it’s fun to see how they act when they play one another or how they act around one another on the basketball court.
“But it’s crazy, I don’t know if there’s ever been brothers that played on the same team or played against one another ever in the NBA as much as the Milwaukee Bucks.”
While Kostas Antetokounmpo, another brother, won a championship with the Lakers in 2020 before becoming pro in France, Alex is an NBA G League player for the Toronto Raptors. Siblings who used to share a bed find it difficult to spend time together, despite the fact that the four brothers attended the premiere this week with their mother.
“A lot of people ask me, ‘Hey, would you change your childhood, would you like to have a different life than the life you had and the upbringing you had?’” Antetokounmpo said. “Like, no way, no way, because that’s what makes us who we are today.”