Documentary Reveals Giannis’s Inspiring Rise in The Marvelous Journey

by Owen Ayite-Atayi, age 17

A new documentary tells the little-known story of NBA great Giannis Antetokounmpo’s inspiring journey to the basketball world. “The Marvelous Journey” delves into the decisions the Antetokounmpo family had to make as they left a life of poverty in Nigeria, in search of a better life.

Before he was the Milwaukee Bucks power forward, Giannis grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where he and his family sold items on the street. It was hard for his parents to meet the needs of Giannis and his four siblings due to the lack of job opportunities in Lagos.

Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo decided it was best for their family to migrate to Athens, Greece, where Giannis and his brothers played soccer, but his brother Thanasis had set his sights on basketball. Thanasis played in a professional Greek league called the Greek Basket League (GBL). He later introduced Giannis to basketball because he was the only other brother who was interested. At first, Giannis wasn’t the best at basketball and would get made fun of while playing pickup games. Nonetheless, Giannis was so dedicated to getting better at basketball that some nights he slept in the gym where his brother played.

While Giannis kept developing his basketball skills, he worked as a manager for his brother's team the Filathlitikos, wiping down wet spots on the court and making sure the team had water. He averaged 9.5 points per game (PPG), 5 rebounds (REB), and 1.4 assists (AST) as a point guard. He shot 62.1% from the two-point field goal range. Yarone Arbel, the New Orleans Hornets international scout, first discovered Giannis in the media, and slowly but surely, more NBA scouts learned about him. Scouts were calling him the next Magic Johnson or Dr. J because of his dominance as a point guard. Although Giannis was getting all these NBA looks, it took some time for his NBA agent, Alex Saratsis, to help him obtain U.S. citizenship.

Giannis declared for the NBA draft on April 28, 2013, but he was worried he wouldn't get drafted because the draft class was so strong that year. Giannis was projected to go late in the second round, but then the extraordinary happened: the Milwaukee Bucks selected Giannis with the 15th pick in the first round. The Bucks went on to develop Giannis into a power forward, and he eventually became an all-star and carried the team to the 2021 NBA finals. On Sept. 29, 2017, his father passed away due to a heart attack. When he won the 2021 NBA championship with the Bucks, he dedicated it to his father.

Giannis continues to strive in the league with his amazing athleticism, work ethic, perseverance, and impact to play both ends of the court. You can learn more about his unorthodox path to the NBA by watching “The Marvelous Journey” on Amazon Prime.

[Sources: Hollywood Reporter; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]