Following their return of the NBA championship trophy to Greece this week, Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo ascended the Acropolis on Wednesday, taking a group photo in front of the Parthenon while holding their memorabilia with pride.
After putting on a spectacular performance in the series against the Phoenix Suns, Giannis won the Finals MVP Award. He shared a number of photos from their visit on social media.
The Antetokounmpo brothers were supposed to visit their neighborhood of Sepolia, Athens, for a celebration before returning home. However, Giannis declared that the ceremony will be postponed because of the wildfires that have devastated several Greek districts over the last three days.
“We hope there are no victims from the fire,” Antetokounmpo wrote on Twitter. “It goes without saying that we are canceling today’s celebration in Sepolia. We will inform you about a new day and time.”
The Antetokounmpo brothers, who were born in Greece to Nigerian immigrants, were forced to hawk DVDs and bracelets to make ends meet. Since Greece does not recognize children of foreign-born immigrants, they grew up fearing deportation.
It was only in 2013, following their NBA draft selection, that they were granted Greek citizenship.
Greece, where basketball is often less popular than football, has been captivated by the brothers’ incredible journey from Sepolia to the NBA.
A Disney movie centered on Giannis’ ascent to the top of the NBA will also feature the area as its central location. The biopic is scheduled to start filming in September.
A huge mural of Giannis in his Milwaukee Bucks jersey, located across the court from where he and his brothers rehearsed and played, is evidence of the pride that his success has inspired in their old neighborhood, which is rarely featured in the media.
“This journey has been crazy. If you told me eight years ago that I’d be in this position, along with Thanasis, and we’d have the NBA trophy with us, and that we can take it anywhere we wanted, I’d say you’re crazy,” he said.
“But it’s all been done with hard work – and we haven’t stopped. We don’t stop, as a family. That’s what we saw all our lives, our parents never stopped, we’d get back home after school, after practice and we saw our parents constantly working, every day to feed us.”