From being stateless and unable to obtain Greek citizenship until turning 19 to carrying the Greek flag at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s journey is truly remarkable.
It included difficult bureaucratic processes and even his last name change from Adetokunbo to Antetokounmpo.
When Greece secured its spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics by dominating the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Piraeus, Giannis Antetokounmpo was deeply moved by the historic moment.
Giannis wiped away tears as he watched his teammates, Greek fans, and his family celebrate the qualification.
It had been 16 years since Greece last had the opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal in basketball.
In 2008, stars like Vassilis Spanoulis, Ioannis Bourousis, Antonis Fotsis, Theo Papaloukas, and Dimitris Diamantidis led the national team to the quarterfinals in Beijing when Giannis was just a 13-year-old navigating life in a country where he was born but couldn’t obtain a passport until his NBA journey began
In 2024, Giannis proudly serves as Greece’s Olympic flag bearer, leading a large delegation of Greek athletes at the Opening Ceremony. He represents a nation with a rich basketball culture and a storied sports history.
Giannis’s journey to this moment has been extraordinary and deserves another chapter in his life story.
Mirin Fader chronicled the challenging moments leading up to Giannis’s recognition as a Greek citizen in her book Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP .
Antetokounmpo was born in Athens in 1994. His parents were of Nigerian descent and illegally moved from Lagos to Greece in 1991.
Although Giannis and his three siblings were born in Greece, none of them qualified for a Greek passport.
This situation prevented Giannis from playing abroad or representing Greek clubs as a local player. It also closed off opportunities for him to showcase his skills to NBA scouts at camps outside Greece.
When rumors about the Greek prodigy began circulating before the 2013 NBA draft, Giannis could not even apply for a US visa to participate in the draft.
He also had an agreement in place with Zaragoza from Spain but could not travel outside the country without a passport.
Giannis faced challenges turning pro without citizenship papers, and the process stalled in Greece. At the time, few in Greece could foresee his potential NBA success.
His agents and coaches, however, recognized his talent and worked tirelessly to ensure he had opportunities on the basketball court. Alongside the Greek Basketball Federation, they aggressively lobbied local authorities to expedite his citizenship.
Former Greek basketball player and coach Giannis Ioannidis, then deputy culture minister for sports, played a pivotal role.
Ioannidis informed Antonis Samaras, the Greek prime minister at the time, about Giannis’ potential international career, including a contract offer from Zaragoza. Yet, obtaining the necessary paperwork proved to be a lengthy challenge.
Samaras barely knew who Giannis was. It seemed like an improbable task despite hearing rumors about an extraordinary young kid of Nigerian descent playing basketball somewhere in the second Greek division and rising fast.
Be the first to comment