It’s a sunny day in Athens, Greece; but instead of playing with all the other children, a young Giannis Antetekoumpo is trying to sell an assortment of objects on the street. This became his daily routine in order to help out his family and scrape up any money so they could have something to eat for dinner. Giannis and his family lived in extreme poverty after his parents emigrated to Greece from Nigeria. Their immigrant status made it extremely difficult for his parents to get jobs, so Giannis and his four brothers were forced to work at a very young age so their family could survive. Giannis called himself “the best seller” because he would never give up until someone would buy from him. He would continuously ask people until he received the much-needed money. 

Today, Antetokounmpo is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He has adopted the name ‘Greek Freak’ and has become an NBA title-winning champion with the Milwaukee Bucks. He has also collected a list of accolades—including two-time league MVP and finals MVP. Giannis’s life now is so drastically different than that of his earlier years; so how did he get to this point?

At age 13, Giannis and his three brothers began playing basketball. Their talent caught the eye of a local coach in Athens. Giannis then joined Filathlitikos, a professional team in Greece. His increasing size and talent caught the attention of NBA scouts. Then, during the 2013 NBA draft, the Milwaukee Bucks picked the skinny 18-year-old to start his incredible legacy.

Giannis hadn’t started out as great as he is today. He lacked some skills, but had abundant physical potential. Giannis transferred what he had learned about persistence from selling goods on the street to building up his basketball game. He spent most of his time on the court; perfecting his techniques. He would spend hours working on his basketball flaws until they were resolved. All his hard work began to pay off. By his third season, Giannis was scoring an average of 16.9 points per game. The Milwaukee Bucks even reached the playoffs three out of the first five seasons Antetokoumpo has been on the team.

Giannis’s perseverance has inspired me and many other individuals around the world to work hard to achieve dreams. Most people have no idea what Giannis has been through in order to achieve everything that he has today; just like how others don’t know how hard someone has worked to get to where they are. Because of Giannis, I feel I can accomplish anything that I put my mind to—no matter how impossible it may seem. For example, I used Giannis’s mindset to win State Varsity third place for trap shooting and be rewarded with reserve champion on my artwork at the State Fair. Seeing the improvements I have made pushes me to keep on going and to not let failure deter me. Giannis is an exceptional role model, and I hope more people will be inspired by his greatness like I have been.

“It's not a failure, it’s steps to success.”  

-Giannis Antetokoumpo