Antetokounmpo, one of the most accomplished players in NBA history, earned consecutive Most Valuable Player Awards in 2019 and 2020, joining LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only NBA players to do it before turning 26.
He became only the third player, after Michael Jordan (1988) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1994), to win both accolades in the same season when he won the NBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in 2020.
Antetokounmpo won the Finals MVP award in 2021 after leading the Bucks to their first NBA title since 1971.
Is Antetokounmpo Greek or Nigerian?
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Nigerian [Yoruba, Igbo] by ethnicity.
The “Greek Freak,” Giannis Antetokounmpo, is a well-known Greek basketball player.
Giannis was born in Athens to Veronica and Charles, two Lagos-born Nigerians. His mother is Igbo, and his father is Yoruba. He was granted Greek citizenship in 2013 and Nigerian citizenship in 2015. He currently possesses both nationalities.
Before then, he was technically a stateless person because Greece does not grant citizenship at birth. Internationally, Giannis has represented Greece. Ougko is his name in Nigeria. The meaning of his last name, Antetokounmpo, is “the crown has returned from abroad.”
