Giannis Antetokounmpo – Greek Nigerian Basketball Player

Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the best players in the NBA, is also known as “The Greek Freak”. Antetokounmpo, who was born in Greece, is widely recognised as one of the greatest power forwards of all time, as well as one of the best European players.

Giannis was born in Athens and raised there, but his parents are from Nigeria. Giannis began his basketball career with Athens’ Filathlitikos youth teams. He joined the Bucks senior squad in 2011 before entering the 2013 NBA draft, where he was selected 15th overall by the Bucks.

In 2016-17, he led the Bucks in all five major statistical categories, making him the only player in NBA history to finish a regular season in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, thefts, and blocks. He won the Most Improved Player title in 2017. Antetokounmpo has been named an All-Star eight times, including as captain in 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2024, when he led the Eastern Conference in votes.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s NBA Career

On April 28, 2013, Antetokounmpo formally entered the NBA draft. He was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks 15th overall, which met his first-round draft projection. He inked a rookie scale contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on July 30, 2013.

On October 13, 2013, at the age of 18, 311 days, Antetokounmpo made his NBA debut, becoming one of the league’s youngest players ever. He averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 77 games as a rookie.

After scoring more than 20 points in 15 straight Bucks games in his fourth season, Antetokounmpo blossomed into an All-Star. In addition to leading the team in most stats, he was named the “Most Improved Player Award” winner.

Following his breakthrough season, Antetokounmpo’s play graph skyrocketed as he won back-to-back MVP awards and was named the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year.

Antetokounmpo was named the league’s Most Valuable Player at the 2019 NBA Awards end-of-season ceremony. Becoming the third youngest MVP winner in the previous 40 seasons, behind Derrick Rose and LeBron James, he joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the second Bucks player to win the award.

In 2020 NBA All-Star Team

In 2020, Antetokounmpo and James were selected as captains of the All-Star Game for the second year in a row on January 23. Giannis signed a record-breaking contract with the Bucks after there was a lot of speculation about his future. Antetokounmpo took home his second consecutive Most Valuable Player title on September 18, 2020.

By doing this, he became one of only two players to win both the MVP and NBA Defensive Player of the Year titles in the same season, along with Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.

As one of the most successful players in NBA history, Antetokounmpo won the MVP trophy two years in a row in 2019 and 2020, joining LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only other players to do so before reaching the age of 26. Aside from his MVP award, he was also chosen as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, making him the only player to win both titles in the same season since Michael Jordan (1988) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1994).

In season 2021-2022, Antetokounmpo brought the Bucks to their first NBA championship since 1971 and was named Finals MVP in that same season. When he was added to the NBA 75th team that same year, he was acknowledged as one of the greatest players in league history.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Awards and Achievements:

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Net worth

The multimillionaire Bucks player is estimated to be worth $110 million. With a salary of over $45 million in the 2023 season and $51 million by the time his contract expires in 2025, he is currently the highest-earning athlete in the Milwaukee Bucks organisation. Antetokounmpo signed a lucrative $228 million five-year contract extension as a result.

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