NBA
NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo visits Greece with mother and brother
The NBA finals MVP made the trip with his family in order to attend their citizenship ceremony at the Prime Minister's residence.
Though different to his triumphs on the NBA courts, attending the citizenship ceremony of his mother and brother in Greece must have been a proud moment for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
A son of the soil returns
NBA star and world champion, Giannis Antetokounmpo was in Greece on Thursday in order to attend a meeting with Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis as well as a special ceremony in which citizenship was awarded to his mother Veronica and his younger brother Alex. Antetokounmpo, who was named NBA finals MVP after leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA championship in July, was present at ceremony which took place at the official residence of the Prime Minister.
Born in Athens, Antetokounmpo, who is 26 is the son of Nigerian immigrants. He himself was granted Greek citizenship in 2013 which subsequently led to him traveling to the United States where he then signed for the Bucks in the same year. Since then he has impressed across the board, becoming only the 3rd player after Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon to win both Defensive Player of the year and Most Valuable Player in the same season (2020).
As Greek as they come
"I always felt Greek, but now we have an official stamp and we are happy," Antetokounmpo told reporters at the ceremony."Alex and my mom are Greek citizens now." Interestingly enough it's the second time in recent months that Antetokounmpo returned to his birth place. In August he made the trip with his brother Thanassis, at the time carrying the Larry O'Brien NBA championship trophy. Together with his family he took the famous trophy to the ancient Acropolis in Athens in order to celebrate having been crowned World champion.