The feature-length documentary about the Nigerian Milwaukee Bucks player’s journey from Athens, Greece, to NBA champion will air on Prime Video on February 19.
Giannis: The Marvelous Journey PRIME VIDEO
“I don’t play basketball for the money, the fame; I only play because I wanted to change my family’s life,” Giannis Antetokounmpo says in the trailer for his upcoming documentary, Giannis: The Marvelous Journey, released by Prime Video on Wednesday.
The feature-length documentary, which will be released on February 19, tells the narrative of Giannis’ family, beginning with his parents, Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo, who emigrated to Greece from Nigeria in 1991 in search of a better life for themselves. Giannis, born in Athens on December 6, 1994, took a similar decision when he declared himself eligible for the 2013 NBA draft. On July 30, 2013, he signed his rookie contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, for whom he has played his whole professional career, bringing the team to its first NBA title since 1971 in 2021.
The Marvellous Journey, however, goes beyond the power forward’s professional highlight reel, painting a picture of an athlete with unfathomable resilience, from rising above racism as an African immigrant in Greece to bringing his family to America in 2014 and dealing with his father’s unexpected death three years later in 2017.
“I don’t want to play no more,” Giannis says of his sentiments after his father died in the caravan. “I don’t want to play no more.”
In addition to interviews with the two-time consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player, widely known as “the Greek Freak,” the documentary covers Giannis’ mother, Veronica, and his siblings Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex Antetokounmpo, as well as his fiancée Mariah Riddlesprigger. Other NBA players that feature in the film include Jason Kidd, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Kenny Smith, Vin Baker, and Ernie Johnson.
Giannis’ narrative has previously been adapted for the big screen. In 2022, Disney published the biographical sports drama Rise, which is based on the true story of the MVP and his brothers Thanasis and Kosta.
Kristen Lappas, an Emmy winner, directs and produces Giannis: The Marvellous Journey. Aaron Cohen, Libby Geist, Nick Monroe, and Giorgos Panou are the executive producers, with Connor Schell and Hannah Beir serving as additional producers.
