Basketball superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has expressed happiness for being able to visit his roots in Nigeria from his American base.
The Milwaukee Bucks power forward was born and raised in Athens, Greece to Nigerian immigrant parents and has represented his country of birth as an international.
However, he has always proudly projected his Nigerian heritage, speaking warmly about the country at any given opportunity.
Despite being nicknamed ‘Greek Freak’ because of the country he was born in and his giant 7’0 frame, Giannis has always said that he feels both Greek and Nigerian.
When Antetokounmpo (Greek version of the Yoruba name Adetokunbo) led Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Championship title in 2021, he proudly displayed the Nigerian flag and regularly mentions the country in his interviews.
The 28-year-old, who went to the United States of America in 2013 to join the Bucks, has been in Lagos for a few days, holding basketball clinics with kids.
He arrived in the country unannounced after spending a few days in China coaching youngsters.
The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player has been seen in videos having fun sessions with Nigerian kids while teaching them the basics of basketball and towering over them as he played with them.
Yesterday, he revealed that he was in town with his mother Veronica, who has raised three other basketball-playing sons and is central to Giannis’ story.
“Finally made it to Nigeria with Mama the Mama,” Giannis captioned a Twitter photo of himself and Veronica walking on the Lagos beach, adding a love emoji and a flag of Nigeria.
The 2021 NBA Finals MVP has been seen in short videos playing basketball with Lagos kids at the popular youth sports centre Rowe Park on the mainland, with one footage showing him dunking to the crowd’s utter delight.
