Giannis Antetokounmpo, the “Greek Freak,” is a widely known All-star Caliber NBA player that has played 4 years in the league and was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013 at the 15th pick.
Before the NBA
Before the NBA, Giannis was just a little boy from a poor family of 7 living in Athens, 
Greece. His family includes Thanasis (oldest), Kostas, Alex, Francis, and his parents Veronica and Charles Antetokounmpo. Their family was in poverty for a very long time and because of this his brothers and him had to work by selling many things on the streets and there were some days where his family had nothing to eat because they did not sell enough. His only escape was spending time with his brothers and at the time his oldest brother Thanasis had just gotten into basketball. As he grew older, everyone in his neighborhood knew that the Antetokounmpo family would someday reach the big leagues of basketball because one neighbor, Dominique, stated that “they practically lived on the basketball court.” Days after turning 18 and already blooming with talent, Giannis signed a deal with the Spanish league team Zaragoza and played one year with them. One year later, he would be drafted by the team that he is still on today, the Milwaukee Bucks.
After Joining the NBA
Giannis was not selected as a break-out star that would be producing amazing stats for his team in his rookie season but was considered a “long-term project” even by many officials who were there when he was picked by the Bucks. In his rookie season he averaged very normal numbers at 6.8 points on 43% shooting. As each season went by, everyone saw how this skinny 6″ll small forward was slowly bulking up and showing why he was picked so early on by the Bucks. By his 3rd year in the league he averaged 16.8 points on 52% shooting and as each year goes on we can see his slow improvement into the man we now know today as the “Greek Freak.”
Greek Freak
How did Giannis get the name the “Greek Freak” you may ask?
Well the name was created by Jason Kidd, the Milwaukee Bucks coach and a retired Hall of Famer. The name was created once Jason Kidd put Giannis into a role where he was the main ball handler and the face of the franchise in the 2015-2016 season. This was expanded even more by an interview on Giannis where they measured his BMI and the length of his arms, hands, wingspan. This interview solidified the name the “Greek Freak” because it proved that this man was destined for basketball because of his 6″11 height with the speed matching an elite NBA guard, his 7″4 wingspan which increases his defensive prowess letting him match up with the NBA’s greatest centers, and the amazing size of his hands which seem 
to be as big as Shaquille O’Neal’s, arguably one of the best centers the NBA has ever seen.
Stats and Records
| 1. | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | .547 |
| 2. | Bob Lanier* | .542 |
| 3. | Sherman Douglas | .541 |
| 4. | John Henson | .535 |
| 5. | Giannis Antetokounmpo | .534 |
| 6. | Marques Johnson | .532 |
| 7. | Ricky Pierce | .530 |
| 8. | Frank Brickowski | .528 |
| 9. | Alton Lister | .528 |
| 10. | Greg Monroe | .527 |
| 1. | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | 3.4 |
| 2. | Elmore Smith | 2.7 |
| 3. | Harvey Catchings | 1.9 |
| 4. | Larry Sanders | 1.8 |
| 5. | Alton Lister | 1.7 |
| 6. | Andrew Bogut | 1.6 |
| 7. | John Henson | 1.5 |
| 8. | Vin Baker | 1.3 |
| 9. | Giannis Antetokounmpo | 1.3 |
| 10. | Joel Przybilla | 1.3 |
| 1. | Sidney Moncrief | .591 |
| 2. | Ricky Pierce | .589 |
| 3. | Mike Dunleavy | .586 |
| 4. | Bob Lanier* | .585 |
| 5. | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | .577 |
| 6. | Giannis Antetokounmpo | .573 |
| 7. | Ray Allen | .571 |
| 8. | Sherman Douglas | .570 |
| 9. | Frank Brickowski | .569 |
| 10. | Johnny Newman | .568 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo has 175 points this season, the most by a Bucks player in the 1st 5 games of a season in team history.
Life as a Basketball Lover 